


Stepping Out of the Shadows

by TBVikingAddict



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer, crossover - Fandom
Genre: Action/Adventure, BAMF Bella Swan, Bella’s on the run, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M, Protective Clint Barton, Romance, SHIELD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 68,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28336689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TBVikingAddict/pseuds/TBVikingAddict
Summary: Bella Swan is living a shadow of a life. On the run from a bloodthirsty nomad craving revenge, she begins to see vampires differently, through the eyes of their prey. After a chance encounter with Hawkeye, her world collides with the shadowy world of SHIELD. She's faced with a difficult choice, keep the vampire secret or step out of the shadows with Clint to help SHIELD fight Loki.
Relationships: Canon Cullen pairings, Clint Barton/Bella Swan, Jacob Black/Angela Weber, Sue Clearwater/Charlie Swan
Comments: 17
Kudos: 74





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, my lovely, lovely readers. 
> 
> So, this is a story I began a while ago on FFN, but haven’t had the chance to upload on AO3. It’s still a WIP and, thanks to some serious medical drama at home, I’m not really sure when I’ll be able to work on it next. For now, I’ve decided to begin the process of moving it over. Hopefully, I’ll feel up to continuing it sometime soon.
> 
> Anyway, here's what you need to know: in this story, the Cullens never returned. Victoria couldn't get past the wolves to get to Bella, but she didn't immediately start creating an army when she hit that furry wall. Instead, she realized Bella would leave the town limits eventually and waited until Bella left for college to go after her. She changed Riley about three months into Bella's first semester, but she didn't change anyone else. Laurent never attacked Bella and she found out about the wolves in a slightly different way. We're just gonna close our eyes and make believe Bella waited for Jacob to jump off that cliff like a maniac, so Alice never caught that vision. Everything else is the same. In the Avenger world, Hawkeye's a little younger than he was in the movies and his backstory is a little different than the one in the comics. He's about 28 and doesn't have a secret family.
> 
> I know! Shocker!
> 
> Like I say at the beginning of every story I write, I freaking love hearing from my readers, but I write to entertain myself. I seriously only write what I want to read, so if you totally want to torch it? Just don't. Hit the back button instead and there will be a whole different selection of writers for you to choose from. Uncanny how that works, right?
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the Avengers. Their all around awesome characters and plot lines belong to Stephanie Meyer and Marvel's. I just think birds of a feather should flock together.

Bella wearily climbed the steps leading to her dorm's floor, her shoulders sagging beneath the weight of her exhaustion. It was nearly three in the morning and she desperately needed to grab a few hours of sleep if she was going to make it to class on time tomorrow. Spending most of the night in the university library, brushing up on Norse mythology for a test in her humanities class, really took a toll on her. She was practically dead on her feet after studying so hard.

Reluctantly, Bella had to admit to herself that the night wasn't a total waste. The subject did interest her, yes, and she actually enjoyed learning about the magical talents of the gods, but she was far more intrigued by vampire mythology and Native American lore. At least those subjects had a practical application, a fact Bella knew well since she'd actually met vampires and shape-shifting wolves. Viking gods, however, didn't hold the same appeal for her mystically inclined mind. Even if she one day learned those myths were also true, what were the odds she'd ever meet a Nordic god?

Yawning, Bella shook her head sharply, attempting to wake herself up as she opened the third floor door and stumbled into the empty corridor. The hallway was eerily quiet, which was something Bella should've expected on a Tuesday night. Still, it sent a shiver of unease down her spine and set her senses on high alert, waking her up quicker than the strongest cup of coffee ever could. The sound of her footsteps echoed loudly in the empty corridor, making her hyperaware of how alone she was. She quickened her pace, unable to shake the feeling of vulnerability now resting on her shoulders.

Bella let out a small breath of relief when her room number finally came into view. With a quick glance behind her, she pulled out her keys and turned to place them in the lock. The door creaked when her fingers brushed against the doorknob and Bella froze, realizing the door was already open. Cautious, Bella pushed it open a few more inches and whispered her roommate's name, "Jenny?"

A pregnant silence greeted her in return, spilling out the door and into the empty corridor behind her. Bella hesitantly pushed the door open the rest of the way and called out her roommate's name in a louder, concerned tone. Once again, silence was the only thing to greet her.

The hairs on the back of Bella's neck started to rise as she stared into the inky black darkness of the room. Something was wrong. The air was too still, the room too dark, too quiet... Something waited for her in there, in the shadows, and Bella was reluctant to find out what that something was. The unnatural silence unnerved her and the air itself felt heavy with warning. It felt as if the whole room was holding its breath, waiting for her to make the next move.

Bella nervously bit down on her lower lip and gathered her resolve, telling herself she was being foolish and overreacting. This wasn't the first time Jenny forgot to lock the door... just the first time she forgot to close it. Her heartbeat hammered away as she left the security of the lit hallway behind her and stepped into the tense dorm room.

Bella reached out, searching blindly for the light switch. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Bella, her fingertips brushed against the cool plastic and she cut on the light. She looked around warily, her books tumbling to the floor with a clatter when her eyes landed on her roommate. An odd choking noise escaped her as she took in the scene and she covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle the sound.

Her roommate's body had been left on the floor in the middle of the room, discarded like a piece of trash. Jenny's limbs rested at an unnatural angle and her glassy eyes were wide with terror. A nasty gash had been torn into her throat and blood dripped from the wound, a wound that made Bella's stomach drop.

 _Vampires_ , she thought. _A vampire killed her._

Slowly, Bella's eyes wandered away from her body, focusing on the wall to the left. There, above Bella's bed, a message was left for her, written in her roommate's blood, _We're coming for you next._

Bella blinked sluggishly and turned sharply, throwing herself into the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before she hurled. Wiping her mouth, Bella pulled out her phone and numbly dialed the police. Her eyes blurred with tears as she waited for the call to connect.

"911, what is your emergency?"

A vicious sob escaped Bella and she quickly forced it back. She didn't have time to fall apart. She needed to focus.

"I need to report a body. My roommate... she's dead. I'm at the University of Washington," she forced out, her throat tight. She quickly answered the phone operator's questions, doing her best to hold it together. The operator told her the police were on the way and Bella faintly registered a voice telling her to stay on the line, but her thoughts were miles away. With unfocused eyes, she nodded robotically and hung up.

Bella wiped her tears away, trying to think. Why would a vampire leave her a message? Why leave her body for Bella to find? Unless... unless it wasn't just a feed.

She was confident the message was a scare tactic, one meant to terrorize her. The vampire who left it wanted Bella to know her death was coming, that her end was inevitable. They wanted Bella jumpy and frightened. The vampire was toying with her, torturing her emotionally, like James did...

Then it dawned on her. _Victoria_.

Bella's hands started to tremble and she nearly dropped the phone. She sank to her knees on the bathroom floor, an unnatural calm washing over her when her knees connected with the hard tile. Everything had just changed and she swallowed hard as she weighed her options. Flipping through the numbers stored on her cell, she selected Jake's. Just as she was about to press send, she glanced over her shoulder and paused, her eyes catching the first word of the bloody threat on the wall. Her blood ran cold as the meaning of the word truly sank in. Not Victoria... not _just_ _Victoria_.

Vampires, plural.

Bella stared at the bloody word for a moment longer and slowly shut her phone. If more than one vampire was hunting her, then the wolves... they couldn't handle an army...

Bella couldn't shake the feeling that Jenny's death hadn't been planned. Usually, Bella spent Tuesday nights alone in their dorm room. She stayed in and studied while Jenny normally spent her Tuesdays over at her sorority's house, getting in the requisite study hours for the week. Bella had a test tomorrow, so she went to the library instead and Jenny must've come back for some reason. She suffered Victoria's wrath in her place. Victoria had to realize her roommate's death would send Bella scurrying back to the wolves... which meant Victoria knew she needed reinforcements if she wanted to get past the pack.

Eight wolves, that was all that stood between vampires and the destruction of Forks and La Push. If Victoria was changing others, she could overwhelm the wolves with sheer numbers.

 _Maybe Laurent's helping her. Maybe that's what she means by we_ , she thought and skeptically eyed the bloody threat, unconvinced. Defeated, Bella closed her eyes and shook her head. She'd wait for now. She'd wait until she knew for sure.

And if there was an army on the way?

She'd run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you following my other Twilight fics, my family has safely recovered from our brush with COVID! My parents are doing fine.
> 
> Strangely enough, I never caught it. I somehow managed to catch my dad’s COVID related pneumonia, so I was sick for a while, but not with the highly infectious coronavirus. Odd (and the Health Department agrees), but we take our victories where we can, right? 
> 
> Anyway, we’ve been doing well on that front. I’m still not up to updating my stories, but it has nothing to do with COVID. Unfortunately, I learned that my right foot has a rare, benign foot tumor shortly after my parents recovered. Since I’ve been dealing with the same kind of tumor in my left foot for nearly two decades, it’s really hit me hard. I nearly lost my lower left leg several times over the years and now my right one is at risk too. Because of that, I haven’t written any new material lately. I’m not really sure when I’ll feel up to writing again.
> 
> And that includes this story, which is nothing new. This work is just a reposting of a crossover on FFN.
> 
> Anyway, if any of you are in a giving mood, there is a PayPal donation link set up on my WP site, TBVikingAddict.Wordpress.com. You can find it at the top of the grey bar at the bottom of the page. Donations really help with my medical bills, so thank you to everyone who’s willing to donate or has in the past. You have no idea how much it means to me.
> 
> —TBVA


	2. A Promise and a Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While on the run, Bella unknowingly meets an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to TB Viking Addict's fantastical and mythical tales...
> 
> I've only got two things to say before you sink your teeth into this chapter. I actually wrote this first and then went back and added the prologue, so if parts seem a little repetitive? Yeah, that's why. The second thing? I am following the plot of the movie, but Bella meets Clint earlier that day.
> 
> I think it's awesome, but that's just me.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers or Twilight. Marvel's and Stephanie Meyers own it all. I just think Hawkeye deserves a chance to shine.

**Eleven months later...**

Bella glanced over her shoulder, her gaze fanning over the faces of the few people out and about. Logically, she knew the blazing hot, New Mexican sun meant any vampires in the area would be keeping indoors, but scanning her surroundings had literally become second nature to her at this point. After what happened back in Seattle, she'd trained herself to always keep a constant eye on the world around her. She was only human, she couldn't risk being cornered by Victoria.

It dawned on Bella that, in a way, she was actually incredibly lucky. Being forced to run for her life didn't make Bella sound very lucky, but she truly was. If she had been home the night Victoria broke into her dorm room, it would've been her buried six feet under instead of her nauseatingly vain roommate, which meant she honestly had a bit of genuine luck on her side. Of course, Bella was wracked with guilt over Jenny's death, but she also realized just how close she'd come to pushing up daisies. Honestly, moving randomly from town to town at the drop of a dime didn't sound nearly as unappealing as a violent death did, so Bella counted her blessings.

She was still alive and the wolves were safe. That was all that mattered.

When Bella first discovered her roommate had been brutally murdered, she had been so incredibly tempted to run home to Forks and retreat to La Push, where the pack could guard her, but that thought was fleeting. There was a reason why Bella was on her own now, why she kept constantly moving. There was a reason why she was living this shadow of a life. That reason was the message sprawled across her dorm room wall in her roommate's blood:

_We're coming for you next._

Bella wasn't sure if it was left intentionally or just a slip of the tongue, so to speak, but the first word made the blood freeze in her veins and a chill slide down her spine. _We're_. Plural. At the time, she desperately hoped the "we" meant Victoria and Laurent, but the sudden spike in the amount of people reported missing during the next two days hit her hard.

After she called the police, Bella spent the following day and most of the following night at the local police station. Thankfully, she had an airtight alibi for the time of Jenny's death, but the police still spent hour after hour grilling her for information. They asked her whatever they could think of, from Jenny's daily routine to whether she had any enemies. The entire time she was there, Bella was keenly aware of all the missing persons reports being called in. At the same time, a breaking news story about mass abductions across the city was playing on one of the station's monitors. That's when it all came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

Victoria was really doing it. She was changing others.

Bella graduated at the top of her class, earning her a full ride to the University of Washington. She was incredibly smart and had always been perceptive, maybe too perceptive, so she put things together quickly. Obviously, the death of her roommate was a mistake. Victoria meant to kill Bella that night, but Bella had gone to the library to study for a test the next day. Since she wasn't there, Victoria lashed out and killed Jenny instead.

The redhead didn't know Bella was merely studying in the library that night. All she knew was that Bella broke routine for the first time in months and she did it on the day Victoria finally came for her. Obviously, Victoria doubted it was just a coincidence and she was too furious to stick around to find out.

Victoria's rash act of anger left her with a dilemma on her hands. She knew the death of Bella's roommate would send the girl running back to Forks, back to the wolves, which was a problem for her. The first year after the Cullens killed her mate, Bella spent nearly every waking moment with the coven, making it virtually impossible for Victoria get to Bella unless she wanted to meet the same fate. Then the unexpected happened, the Cullens left Bella behind. Victoria finally had the window she wanted. She could take Bella anytime... or so she thought. Bella quickly proved her wrong when she befriended the local pack of wolves. Anytime the redhead tried to attack, a wolf was there to stop her.

So Victoria waited, biding her time until Bella finally left the town limits, and the day eventually came when Bella left for college. She studied Bella's routine and finally made her move, only to discover Bella wasn't there. Out of anger, Victoria drained Bella's roommate and, now, she realized Bella would retreat to La Push, leaving Victoria with only one choice. Thirsty for revenge and tired of waiting, she started building her army.

What Victoria didn't count on was how perceptive Bella could be. Bella knew Victoria would only get to her if she attacked with numbers. It wasn't a huge leap for Bella to understand Victoria was creating an army.

Bella loved the wolves. She couldn't imagine all the pain, heartache, and grief that an attack like that would cause. The pack had eight wolves. They couldn't survive an attack by twenty newborn vampires and Bella refused to watch them die for her. She knew instantly that the pack would do anything to protect her, but Bella wasn't willing to trade her life for one of theirs. They'd argue if they ever heard her say this, but she wasn't worth it. She wasn't worth that kind of loss. Honestly, she might've been once upon a time, before the Cullens abandoned her and a piece of her died inside. Now, though? She was well aware that she wasn't really living anymore, she was merely existing, and that made their lives worth so much more than hers. She wouldn't let them risk those lives on someone like her. It was not an option. She couldn't let something like that happen, so she made a choice. She decided to run.

What Bella didn't realize was that fate was a fickle bitch. By choosing a different path, Bella exchanged one war for another. One she couldn't run from.

After the police finally released her, she quickly retreated to her dorm room and packed a bag. She swept up everything she deemed essential, snuck past the squad car posted outside for her safety, and ducked into her beloved truck. Teary-eyed, she emptied her bank account at a series of ATMs and then drove to the airport. She left the truck in the parking lot with a message written on the front window, aware Victoria would soon realize she hadn't gone to La Push and would come across it when she eventually tracked her to the lot.

_Game on, bitch. Come and get me._

Luckily, Bella had spent a year off working and saving up money before enrolling, so she wasn't exactly low on funds. Combined with her college fund, she had enough to survive on for a while if she spent her money wisely. Using those funds, she bought three tickets, each to a major airport, just to fuck with Victoria's head; Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and New York. It was the second one she flew to. Once there, she used cash to buy a secondhand SUV and steadily made her way through the sunniest states in the U.S., which was how she eventually ended up in New Mexico.

Just in case, Bella sent an email to Charlie explaining what happened and asked him to warn the pack about Victoria's plans. After sending it, she removed the memory card and stuck the phone on a bus heading to the east coast. She bought throwaways after that and called once a month to check in with him. Charlie had moved in with the Clearwaters the year before and, as a member of the tribe through his marriage to Sue, was informed about the pack. If nothing else, Bella knew Seth and Leah would keep him safe.

Charlie begged her to come home at first, certain she was overreacting, until the number of people disappearing in Seattle abruptly fell. It was then that he realized the threat of a vampire army was very real. Her father was an officer of the law, bound to protect and serve, and wanted to protect La Push just as much as Bella did. It hurt him dearly to do it, but he grudgingly agreed that both she and La Push would be safer if she stayed away until they sorted out the situation with Victoria somehow. Though Bella was skeptical, Charlie refused to believe her exile from Washington was anything other than temporary.

A huge part of him was tempted to find a way to disappear and join her, to personally ensure his daughter was safe and protected. If she needed to run, then Charlie wanted to run with her. He would've done it in a heartbeat, too, if Bella were the only one who depended on him, but she wasn't. The Swan family had just gained three members and, even though she was always his main priority, he also had to look out for Sue, Leah, and Seth. It killed him to know his daughter was out there, facing the threat alone, but he understood how important it was for her to keep moving, not only for their safety but for her own.

Unable to be there to protect her personally, he gave her a rundown on what she needed to do to keep herself off the grid and brainstormed with her on ways to protect herself. Charlie even kept an eye on missing persons reports and let her know if there was ever a spike in the area she was in. Just in case Victoria had someone listening in on their phone calls, she never revealed her location by phone, which was actually Charlie's idea. Instead, she told him covertly, sending it via email from an account she created under a false name.

He never once let her location slip, not even to his wife, and nobody knew he actually kept in contact with her. Neither of them were willing to risk that information getting out. Just to be on the safe side, Bella only sent those emails to his confidential work account, something Charlie only checked when he was at the station, and never used her name. Taking Bella's paranoia a step further, Charlie took the added precaution of erasing her emails immediately after reading them.

Originally, Bella had refused to tell him anything at all, afraid Victoria would somehow find out he knew something. She didn't want to take the risk, worried the redhead would try to torture information out of him, but Charlie put his foot down. He stubbornly told her if she didn't keep in contact and tell him _something_ , he'd leave the safety of La Push and track her down himself. This was their compromise.

With thoughts of her dad still plaguing her mind, Bella sighed and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She'd been in town for about a week now and knew she should probably pack up and move on again in the morning. She was already pressing her luck by staying as long as she had.

The evening Bella first rolled into town, she came across a small, hole-in-the-wall taco stand that made the most delicious Mexican dishes, where she was currently headed. Since she hadn't been able to satisfy her craving for Mexican food even once after she moved to Forks, she quickly found herself addicted to anything and everything the stand sold. Mexican food was something she dearly missed when she moved to her father's rainy town and was just one of the many things she hated about Forks. She'd grown to love many of the people there, but she still considered it one of the dreariest places on earth.

With a small shake of her head, Bella forced her thoughts away from her rainy hometown. She found herself, instead, eyeing a muscular, blonde man pulling into the town square on a motorcycle. Curiosity got the better of her and she watched him intently as he parked the bike and headed towards the stand at a brisk walk, just barely beating her there.

He was definitely a looker, just shy of 6 feet with well-defined muscles, a nice golden tan, and a strong jaw. What threw her, though, while simultaneously piquing her interest, was the bow slung over his shoulder and quiver of arrows strapped to his back. He was also wearing what looked like a military outfit, from the teflon vest beneath his shirt all the way down to the black cargo pants and combat boots. She could tell instantly that he had more than one weapon stashed away and he wasn't even hiding the knife strapped to his ankle. He even carried himself like a soldier and she idly wondered if there was a base nearby.

Bella was in some no name, one-horse town and she was honestly surprised by his presence. She was close enough by then to hear him when he ordered his lunch and silently cursed when that low, husky voice made an involuntary shiver roll down her spine. Stilling mid-step, Bella openly stared at the stranger in front of her, genuinely shocked by her own reaction. Her body hadn't responded to someone like that since the last time she saw Edward.

Bella had long ago given up on love, believing her broken heart to be incapable of it. If she were able to fall in love again, surely it would've happened with Jacob, right? No matter how desperately Bella wished she could've felt that way about Jacob, though, it hadn't happened and Bella honestly thought Edward had destroyed the part of her capable of feeling that beautiful emotion.

Something about the man in front of her, though, forced Bella to pause and reconsider that thought. Slowly, she began to wonder if her heart was truly destroyed or if maybe, just maybe, it was only numb. She focused on the sound of his deep voice again and, to her amazement, Bella felt something in her chest kick to life, setting her entire body alight with desire. His voice alone made her heart thump quicker and her veins hum with anticipation.

 _I didn't even get a good look at his face_ , she mentally scolded herself, equally amazed and appalled by her body's involuntary response. In fact, she was so astonished by it that she didn't even notice he'd turned around until her gaze locked with his. Ruefully, Bella realized she never stood a chance. Those steely blue eyes of his were more than enough on their own to hypnotize her, it didn't even seem fair that he could have such rugged features on top of it.

Running her eyes over him, amusement filled Bella when it occurred to her that he was everything Edward wasn't. Her tastes had changed over the last three years, matured. Edward was a boy, a beautiful boy, but the soldier in front of her? He was definitely a man, a man in every way.

Bella soaked in every line of his handsome face, memorizing everything about him without even being consciously aware of it. She was so focused on absorbing every detail that she didn't even register how intently he was studying her in return. 

Clint honestly hadn't noticed her when he first approached, but he was definitely taking notice of her now. He was just about to bite into his burrito when he turned around and nearly walked right into her.

The young woman before him was a truly stunning creature and he found himself stilling completely in surprise. He gave her a thorough once over, taking in her deliciously toned body, before meeting her gaze again and promptly lost himself in wide, chocolate colored eyes. She had a petite, heart-shaped face, ivory colored skin, and beautifully long, brunette locks. She tilted her head slightly, making those silken locks shimmer like a rippling waterfall. The sunlight hit her at a new angle, revealing red undertones that he swore somehow made her even more enticing. He swallowed hard when his gaze dropped down to her soft, pouty lips and surprised himself when he felt the sudden tempting urge to kiss her.

"Damn, you're beautiful," he murmured. A tantalizing blush stole across her cheeks and his eyes widened when he registered what he just said out loud. He was pretty damned sure his ears were now burning with his own tattletale blush and nearly groaned in embarrassment.

Trying to play it off casually, he cleared his throat awkwardly, lowering his burrito, and held out his right hand, "I'm Clint. Clint Barton."

 _Why the fuck did I just tell her my real name?_ he mentally berated himself. Clint was on assignment and it was definitely against protocol to tell her that, but it felt like he had no control over his mouth today.

"Bella Swan. Nice to meet you," she replied and shook his hand. Bella then flashed him one of the sweetest damn smiles he'd ever seen. That smile alone had him completely smitten.

She was tempting, that's what she was. Bella was a combination of dangerous curves, a hint of innocence, and fuck, he wanted her already. A breeze suddenly kicked up and her scent drifted over to him, teasing him with a combination of strawberries and freesias. He swore his mouth actually watered and he swallowed hard, once again tempted to kiss her. Just talking to her was a special brand of torture.

 _Bella, huh? Could she have a more fitting name?_ Clint wondered.

He smiled back and surprised himself again by asking, "Are you from around here?"

Because her hand was still in his, he felt it when her pulse jumped and his eyes narrowed when she threw a nervous glance over her shoulder. Hesitantly, she let go of his hand and softly said, "Just passing through."

He gave her a searching look before scanning the surrounding area for an unseen threat. Clint knew the signs and he felt his chest tighten inexplicably at the idea of her being in danger. Sensing no foreign eyes on them, he brought his gaze back to her and quietly asked, "Who are you running from, Bella?"

Her face paled a shade, which was all the confirmation he needed. She was in danger. She felt threatened.

"Nobody," she lied, not fooling him for a second. She brushed past him while pulling out her wallet and added, "Just getting lunch."

Bella took her time ordering and made it painfully clear she was in no hurry, hoping he'd drop it if he saw she wasn't anxious to run off. Clint recognized the tactic for what it was, a way to shift his focus. He had to admit she was cleverer than most. She was handling the situation like an agent would, trying to make him doubt the instinct telling him she was in danger.

Most people running without any real training took off in a panic when they realized there was a risk of exposure. Bella, conversely, was acting as though nothing was wrong and that he was simply mistaken in his first impression. If he hadn't been trained to react in the exact same way, it would've worked. Honestly, she was displaying the ideal type of behavior S.H.I.E.L.D. looked for when recruiting. She was cool under pressure.

Wondering how long she could maintain that calm façade, Clint decided to play along. He leaned himself against the wall of the stand and lazily took a bite of his burrito. It didn't escape his attention that she paid with cash and he quickly put two and two together. She wasn't in _immediate_ danger, but she _was_ in danger. Bella was clearly running from something and he wondered what it could possibly be. A girl like her didn't strike him as the type to get in trouble with the law or involve herself with low lives. She didn't shy away from male attention either and kept eye contact with him when he spoke, traits that told him she wasn't running from an abusive ex.

 _What are you involved in, sweetheart?_ he silently pondered _. What's got you scared enough to run?_

Clint couldn't quite understand why he was so concerned for a girl he just met, but something about her intrigued him. Bella was by far one of the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on, yet it wasn't her beauty that piqued his interest. Maybe it was the way she handled herself around him, how calmly she acted after Clint asked her a question that clearly bothered her, or maybe it was something else entirely that caught his attention. He couldn't quite shake the pull he felt towards her, the growing need to know more about her, and he honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to.

Something about Bella called to him, something he couldn't quite pinpoint, and he wanted to understand it, to understand _her_. She had a sweet and gentle air about her, one that hinted at an inviting and warm character. At the same time, he sensed she was anything but weak. In fact, watching her somehow left him with the impression Bella was a woman full of bravery and fortitude. She had a smile that was sweeter than honey and a disposition to match it, yet the agent had a feeling that she was so much tougher than she looked. Her beautiful, wide brown eyes reminded him of those of a doe, giving her a look of innocence that didn't quite match the shadows reflected there.

She was a walking contradiction.

Once he took a harder look, pushing past that deceptively innocent appearance, he realized Bella had the eyes of a person who had seen things she wished to forget. There was a slightly pained quality to them, one that hinted at a soul deep wound, and it made his heart ache for her. Still, whatever she'd been through hadn't hardened her or turned her bitter, which meant she was resilient and had a hidden well of inner-strength. The more he noticed about her, the stronger the urge to protect her grew.

Deciding to lighten the mood, Clint took another bite of his burrito and moaned theatrically. She gave him an odd glance, a hint of smile tugging at her lips, and he bragged, "This is _delicious_." She nodded as she collected her own burrito and he jokingly reached for hers, "Maybe I'll eat yours too."

To his delight, she playfully slapped his hand away and leveled him with a mock warning glare, "Try it again and I'll have to kill you."

He gave her an incredulous look and pointedly glanced at the knife strapped to his ankle and bow slung over his shoulder. She immediately understood her mistake and a beautiful laugh escaped her, making his chest warm. He was glad he could make her laugh when she seemed so skittish a second ago.

"What's up with that anyway? Is there a base nearby or," she gave him a look of mischief and lowered her voice, asking in a playful stage whisper, "are you a secret agent?"

Clint nearly choked on his burrito and pounded on his chest. He wasn't expecting that. Normally, if someone noticed his gear, they immediately focused on his bow and asked him if if there was an archery range nearby. If they happened to truly take in his apparel, they assumed he was part of a tactical unit in the police force like SWAT. The fact that he wasn't wearing the typical combat fatigues of a soldier meant no one had ever assumed he'd be found anywhere near a base of any kind. Rarely did anyone ask him if he was an agent and the fact that she wondered about both completely threw him.

There was, indeed, a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility not far from here, one he was currently stationed at to guard the Tesseract. She was two for two and now he realized he'd have to think more carefully about what he wore when he slipped off base. He wasn't quite sure how she made that leap, but she did and now he was in trouble. He tried dodging the question by commenting, "You're a perceptive little thing, aren't you?"

"And you're avoiding the question," she said with a teasing grin and he sighed heavily. She surprised him again though by adding, "It's okay, you don't have to answer that." She unwrapped her burrito while commenting offhandedly, "Sometimes we can't tell people things for their own protection."

Clint was amazed she wasn't pressing him for more details, yet something about her tone bothered him. It almost sounded like she was speaking from experience. Understanding dawned on him a second later when he realized she _was_ speaking from experience. Bella wouldn't tell him who she was running from because she thought she was protecting him. He stifled a laugh over the irony. Clint was the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, yet _she_ was trying to protect _him_.

The agent in him wanted to interrogate her, but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere with her, not if she truly thought she was protecting him. Clint liked her, though. He _really_ liked her, so he decided to try to build some trust between them. He turned to the window and ordered two horchatas and a couple of churros before asking Bella, "Have you ever tried an horchata, Bella?"

"No," she said slowly and eyed him dubiously.

He flashed her what he hoped was a charming smile and handed her a glass, "It's really good. It's some type of rice, milk, and cinnamon drink. Try it."

"What are you doing?" she asked in a baffled tone, taking the drink from him in confusion, and Clint bit back a laugh.

"I thought," he began, a playful edge to his voice, "I was having lunch with a beautiful girl, but if you don't want to eat with me..." He reached for the cup and she pulled it away from him on instinct, just as he hoped she would.

"That is the worst invitation I have ever heard," she smarted as he scooped up the churros and his own drink with a grin on his face.

Clint shrugged, leading her over to the picnic table set up in front of the stand, and quipped, "Worked, didn't it?"

He caught the reluctant smile on her face as he sat down across from her and cocked an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes, crushed a napkin into a ball, and chucked it at him, "Yeah, yeah. Guess it did."

"Don't sound so excited about it," he deadpanned, catching the balled up napkin with lightning quick reflexes. "Seriously, the girly squealing is making me nervous."

Bella laughed and Clint smiled, feeling oddly triumphant for some weird reason. He was truly enamored with the sound of her laughter. It was such a beautiful, carefree sound that he found himself savoring each and every giggle that fell from her lips. The way her eyes lit up and sparkled had him damn near hypnotized and he silently vowed to make her laugh as often as possible just for a chance to see it again.

"Okay," Bella sighed, a smile still on her face.

It'd been nearly a year since Bella had a true conversation with someone. For the first six months she spent on the run, she'd been beyond paranoid about who she spoke to and was seen with, terrified anyone she even looked twice at would end up drained. She shut down in that time, cutting herself off from the simple pleasure of human contact.

Eventually, Bella began to realize she was overthinking things. If Victoria caught up with her, the redhead wasn't going to kill the people she had one conversation with. No, Victoria would go straight for Bella. The chase had gone on for too long and Bella knew the need for revenge was eating away at Victoria, slowly driving her mad. She wouldn't waste anymore time if she caught up with Bella. The vengeful vampire would snatch her the second she found the opportunity. By the time Bella realized this, though, it had been so long since she'd had an actual conversation that she suddenly realized she didn't know how to ease into one anymore. Her pathetic attempts to hold the simplest of conversations were always stilted and painfully awkward. So awkward, in fact, that she'd simply given up on trying.

To Bella's surprise, talking to Clint was easier than breathing. There was just something about him that relaxed her and, for the first time in nearly a year, she felt safe. She found herself bantering with him effortlessly and laughing, actually laughing, while they talked. It'd been eleven months since she'd genuinely laughed, since she was forced to flee, and she was a little startled to hear the sound of it after so long. For that alone, Bella was extremely grateful for the man in front of her. He made her feel alive again and she relished that feeling.

Bella took a sip of the drink Clint bought her, her eyes widening in surprise as the flavor exploded on her tongue. She stared at it for a second before meeting Clint's amused gaze. Smiling, she ruefully confessed, "Okay, that's really, really good."

"See? I swear," he pouted, "nobody ever believes me. I know my Mexican food."

Bella giggled, incredibly amused to see a grown man decked out in military gear pouting. She took a couple bites of her burrito while eyeing him thoughtfully, even more curious about him than before. He noticed the way she was watching him and looked down, half expecting to find refried beans on his shirt. Realizing he was bean free, he brought his gaze back to her and prodded, "What?"

"Can I ask you something, Clint?" He nodded automatically, unable to deny her anything, and she phrased her question carefully, "I'm not asking what you do or where you work, but why did you come to a taco stand armed to the teeth?" She looked around pointedly, emphasizing the fact that the entire square was practically empty.

"Are you kidding? We're in a war zone," he deadpanned.

She looked around cautiously, delighting him by playing along. Her eyes twinkled with mirth when she whispered, "You're right. I'm pretty sure that lady feeding the pigeons across the street is packing an assault rifle... and the cook behind the grill? I've seen him on wanted posters. He's the head of a drug cartel."

He scoffed and shook his head, "And you wanted to know why I was armed... You're lucky I'm here to protect you."

Clint looked so deadly serious when he said it that it set Bella off. Laughter exploded out of her and she couldn't believe he'd actually managed to get the words out with a straight face. Her laughter triggered his and it took a minute for them both to catch their breath.

Clint shook his head a little, trying to shake off the disbelief he'd been feeling since the moment they sat down. She was so incredibly fun to talk to and he was finding it a little hard to believe she was still sitting there. Dressed the way he was, she shouldn't feel so comfortable around him, yet she clearly did. Not once did she look uneasy or freaked out by the weapons he was carrying and he was beginning to wonder if she was truly real or just a figment of his imagination.

Clint had become a firm believer he would never find a girl who would knowingly date a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but Bella... Bella made him doubt that belief. She didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by the fact that she was eating lunch with someone who was obviously dangerous. He knew she was smart enough to realize he was trained to kill with the weapons he wore. Even so, she stuck around.

Deciding to answer her honestly, he admitted, "It's my lunch break. Normally, I buy my food and take it back with me. I'm in and out in under five minutes, so I didn't really see a point in changing when I knew I'd end up putting it all back on ten minutes later. I wasn't expecting that to change..." He watched the understanding dawn on her and threw her a playful grin. "Today I got... distracted."

Bella blushed in realization and Clint watched the way her cheeks reddened with a predatory thrill. He wanted her, desperately so, and seeing her face flush when she realized she was the sole reason he stuck around today made his blood spike with adrenaline. He winked at her, filled to the brim with pleasure when she blushed even harder.

"Attention span of a toddler, huh? Got distracted by something shiny?" she bantered, ignoring the urge to place a cool hand on her overheated cheeks.

Clint nodded solemnly and lamented, "Makes holding down a job a real bitch."

"I bet," she teased and took a deep drink of her horchata, avoiding the temptation to lick her lips. Her mouth had run painfully dry when she realized she was Clint's distraction, the thing that made a military man deviate from routine. Despite the fact that he called her beautiful earlier, Bella hadn't realized she affected Clint that way. She couldn't deny the rush she felt from that knowledge, though. It was a shame she'd have to skip town soon. For the first time in eleven months, there was someone she actually wanted to stick around for.

Bella finished off her burrito and Clint placed one of the churros in front of her with a grin. She took a bite out of it while her gaze settled on the bow slung over his shoulder. She was extremely curious about it and her fingers twitched with the strange urge to touch it.

Clint noticed, of course. He was acutely aware of her gaze, so when it shifted from him to the bow, he sensed it.

"It's my weapon of choice," Clint explained, his voice a little deeper than normal and slightly strained. He really didn't want to scare her off, so he found himself battling back nerves when her attention was drawn to his favorite weapon. He had hoped that simple answer would be enough to satisfy her, but he should've known better.

Bella's perceptive gaze honed in on it, sensing instinctively that his bow was very much a part of him, an extension of him. Clint hadn't known Bella long enough to realize she was a bit of an adrenaline junky. She wasn't scared off by dangerous things, like normal people were. Instead, she was intrigued by it. Getting a glimpse into the more dangerous side of Clint didn't frighten her, it flooded her with a delicious hit of adrenaline.

"Can I see it?" Bella asked curiously.

Clint unstrapped the bow from his shoulder and set it on the table between them. He knew he really shouldn't be showing this to her. There was always that odd chance she could be a foreign agent of some type, one who could analyze it for potential weaknesses and figure out a way to disarm him... but his instincts urged him to do it. Clint always trusted his instincts, which was what made him one of Fury's top agents. There was something about Bella that told him to trust her and he decided to listen to that urge.

Clint studied her intently as she gingerly ran her fingers over the metal frame, wondering what she was thinking. He half expected her to flinch away from it. His bow was a weapon and he used it to kill. Instead, she smiled and teased, "This is the most high tech bow I've ever seen."

Clint's anxiety faded in an instant, a tension he wasn't even aware of eased, and every muscle in his body slowly relaxed. It was like something shifted inside of him with her easygoing response, clicking into place. He wasn't quite sure why her acceptance had such a powerful effect on him, but he didn't really care at the moment and decided to just enjoy the way she made him feel. Grinning like a fool, he asked, "Yeah? Seen many bows, Bella?"

"Tons," she replied, her tone sarcastic. Meeting his gaze, she unconsciously ran her fingers over the bow again and said seriously, "Just one actually." Her lips twitched and humor filled her eyes before she explained, "I tried my hand at archery once."

"Really?" he asked with a smile, sensing he was going to laugh his ass off in a minute.

She nodded, "When I was seven. Somehow, I talked my dad into letting me try it one summer." Her expression turned sheepish and she leaned forward, quietly confessing, "The first time I used it, I accidentally shot him in the leg. My hand slipped while I was notching the arrow and it ended up in his hamstring."

"You shot your dad?" he asked incredulously, his whole body shaking with the effort it took not to laugh.

She nodded emphatically, her eyes wide. He shook his head, still silently laughing, while she quipped, "My archery career lasted thirty seconds."

"Did you get in trouble after?" he prodded.

"No," Bella replied, her shoulders dropping in defeat, "he blamed himself. He said he should've known better, that I accidentally wound people all the time and he really shouldn't have put a weapon in my hand."

"You're screwing with me," he said with a mock look of skepticism and laughter in his voice.

"I'm serious!" she argued. She laughed with him for a second before adding, "What makes it so much worse is that my best friend was there. He lived on the reservation and told me afterwards that _that_ was why I never got to be the Indian when we played Cowboys and Indians. Apparently his heritage had nothing to do with it."

That was the last straw for Clint. He literally broke down in laughter, his face reddening from the force of it. Bella's childhood confession was the last thing he ever expected to hear from her when he first set the bow down. She had him cracking up over the weapon he used on all of his toughest missions. When he finally settled down, he admitted, "I don't think I'll ever look at a bow the same way again."

Bella blushed and gave him a chagrinned look. He strapped the bow back in place while assuring her, "That's a good thing."

Bella eyed him doubtfully, though a part of her was secretly pleased. She could sense how hesitant he was to show her the weapon and was glad she eased that discomfort.

"You really shot your dad, huh?" Clint teased.

Bella scoffed, "That's the least of what I've done to him." Clint raised his eyebrows at her and she admitted, "If I wasn't injuring myself growing up, I was injuring him. He has more scars from his time with me than he does from his time on the force."

He shook his head in disbelief, somehow not the slightest bit surprised she was the daughter of a cop. Bella steered the conversation away from her father, though, entertaining him instead with stories about her klutziness growing up. Before he knew it, a half hour had passed and he had to return to the base.

Clint couldn't quite believe time had passed so quickly and found himself a little irritated. When he first sat down with her, he had hoped to earn her trust and gently persuade her into telling him what she was running from. Instead, she had so easily distracted him from the situation and now he was out of time.

"I have to head back," Clint stated apologetically and started clearing off the table.

Bella nodded soberly and stood up, gathering her trash. Clint took it from her and ran it over to the trash can. On his way back, he stopped at the window and grabbed a napkin. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Clint quickly wrote down his number on it and walked back over to Bella.

"Here, take this," he said, handing her the napkin. He pinned her with a serious look and added in a low voice, "I don't know what you're running from, Bella, but if you ever need help, you call that number. Day or night, call it. I can help you."

That was a promise Clint intended to keep. Even if he was on a mission on the other side of the world, he would take that call. If he couldn't get back to her in time to help her himself, he had more than one friend within S.H.I.E.L.D. he could count on to do him a favor and even more who already owed him one.

Even though Bella wanted to argue, she reluctantly took the napkin anyway, knowing instinctively he wouldn't leave until she did. Sticking it in her pocket, Bella gave him a sad smile and softly warned, "Don't expect that call, Clint. I'm not running from anything."

After spending lunch with him, Bella knew with absolute certainty she would never call him for help. Her heart warmed over the gesture and her throat tightened with emotion, but she stoically pushed through it so Clint wouldn't catch just how much his desire to protect her meant to Bella. That desire was exactly why she couldn't call him. If she ever found herself cornered, calling Clint would mean his death. She didn't doubt that he would come running if she called and then they both would meet a violent end. She would never do that to him. As much as Clint wanted to protect her, Bella's determination to protect him from the vampires hunting her outweighed it.

After nearly a year on the run, Bella usually had an excellent poker face. He'd caught her unprepared earlier, but her instinctive reactions were firmly locked down now and even Clint's well trained eyes couldn't pick up on any tells. He honestly couldn't tell if she was lying or not, but he trusted his instincts. Deciding to call her bluff, Clint eyed her skeptically and challenged, "If that's true, then you'll be here tomorrow. Same time."

Bella hesitated, aware she needed to move on. She'd already been in town for a week, which was four days longer than she was used to. Normally, Bella wouldn't risk spending so much time in one place, but she was waiting for something. Charlie had set up a P.O. box for her in town and was sending her some funds. She hadn't checked it yet today, but if the package had arrived, she had planned to move on with the sunrise.

Clint cocked an eyebrow at her, picking up on her hesitation, and took it as confirmation that she was, in fact, on the run. Bella gave him a bittersweet smile, unaware of her slip, and nodded reluctantly, impulsively deciding one more day couldn't hurt. Besides, she hadn't received that package yet.

"You promise?" Clint tested, not quite believing her.

Bella nodded, honesty shining in her eyes, "I promise. I'll be here."

Clint smiled slowly and started walking backwards, heading towards his bike, "Good. See you tomorrow, beautiful."

Clint had hoped Bella would start walking towards her car so he could catch the license plate number, but Bella was too clever for that. With a blush tinging her cheeks, she merely waved, waiting until he was out of sight before she risked heading towards her car.

With no more time to spare, Clint realized he couldn't linger any longer and headed back to the base. Time had worked against him today, but he still had two things working in his favor, a promise and a name. Determined, he silently vowed this wasn't over. He'd find out what she was running from and, more importantly, he'd find a way to protect her.


	3. The Swan Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint decides to look into Bella’s past and finds a mystery he wasn’t expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the amazing superhero world that is the Avengers. Stephanie Meyer and Marvel own it all. I just think Hawkeye's super too.

"Coulson," Clint called out, simultaneously knocking on his open door. There was a hint of excitement in his voice that Clint couldn't suppress even if he wanted to. He needed to share what he found with Phil and he needed to do it immediately.

Setting aside the file on his desk, a folder containing the latest progress report on the Tesseract, Agent Phil Coulson looked up at Clint expectantly. Clint grinned at Phil and shut the door before dropping a new folder on top of the messy stack already gathered in front of him.

"What's this, Barton?" Phil asked, eyeing the folder curiously as Clint dropped into the chair in front of his desk and propped his feet up on the corner of it. Phil frowned and shoved his feet off before looking at Clint again.

Still wearing the same mischievous grin, Clint relaxed back into the chair and began, "You won't believe who I met at lunch today..." Clint trailed off and his eyes glazed over slightly as his mind drifted back to Bella. He knew instinctively that Bella would bring trouble, but something kept telling him she was worth it. That same something told him he would love every damn minute of it.

Phil eyed him skeptically, "On your burrito run?" Clint nodded absently, his eyes still unfocused, and Phil just barely refrained from rolling his eyes. He had a feeling he knew what the odd look on Clint's face meant. "Let me guess, a woman?"

Clint refocused on Agent Coulson, who was technically his superior. As Fury's right hand, Phil Coulson held seniority over him, but Clint had worked alongside him on so many cases that they had grown to be good friends. When it was just the two of them present, they had a much more informal relationship, one that wasn't typically found among those of different ranks. Basically, Clint got away with bloody murder... as long as nobody else was around to see it.

"Not just any woman, Coulson," Clint corrected and motioned towards the file impatiently. "I got the sense she was running from something, so I ran a background check when I got back to base. After what I found, it genuinely amazes me that she told me her real name," Clint explained.

Idly, Clint wondered if she told him on accident, if she’d slipped up like he did, or if she told him on purpose. He couldn't decide which thought he liked more, that he flustered her so much that she accidentally let her name slip or that she actually trusted him enough to give him her real name.

Curiosity officially piqued, Phil opened the folder and studied the contents. The first page was a missing persons report filed eleven months prior. Surprised, Phil read aloud, "Isabella Marie Swan, age 21, student at the University of Washington."

He studied the picture attached to it, silently admitting he could see why she would catch Clint's attention. She was certainly beautiful, with wide brown eyes, long brown hair, and a charming smile. Phil stared at her for a second longer, bothered by something he couldn't quite pinpoint. In a moment of clarity, he realized there was something off about the way she smiled. It looked slightly strained, forced. He had an odd instinct that it was fake and thought it was a shame that something had stolen away her ability to smile.

"Goes by Bella. She went missing two days after she found her roommate dead in their dorm room," Clint summarized, his voice taking on a much graver tone. "A Jacob Black reported her missing, but her father, Charlie Swan, the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington, swore up and down that Bella just needed a break. Chief Swan put a stop to the FBI investigation looking into her disappearance, but the Seattle P.D.'s still looking for her. They haven't been able to close her roommate's case and wanted to pull her in again for questioning. Problem is, Bella completely disappeared. The officer that drove her back to campus was the last person that remembered seeing her. Since then, she's kept off the grid."

"Is she a suspect?" Phil asked while flipping through the crime scene photos. Just as he came to the photo taken of the threat left on the wall, Clint shook his head.

"Airtight alibi. Campus cameras place her in the library." Clint leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stated, "Actually, they now think she was the original target."

Phil looked up, finally beginning to understand where this was going. Clint liked the girl and wanted to help her. He wanted to step in and protect her.

Phil sighed and asked, "And how is this a S.H.I.E.L.D. case?"

Clint's responding dark smile actually made Phil nervous, which was a difficult feat. The agent eyed Clint warily, suddenly on high alert. The last time Clint smiled like that, Phil ended up in a five day coma.

"Check out the cause of death."

So he did. Phil read it, reread it, and then read it a third time just to be sure. Bella's roommate was brutally drained. Her killer then used what little blood remained to leave the threat on the wall. Not a single trace of DNA or fingerprint evidence was left at the scene besides what belonged to Bella and the victim. The autopsy photos revealed the imprints of teeth in the girl's neck, but no saliva was found in the surrounding tissue. There had been a sample taken of an unknown substance found in the wound, but it had burned through the swab by the time the lab technician got around to testing it. The body had been cleaned by that time and the evidence was lost.

It was an odd death, the type of death that warranted the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Odd cases like that one often led to even odder explanations. S.H.I.E.L.D. often found those cases to be the most worthwhile.

"There's more, Coulson," Clint added. "The police traced Bella's cell to a bus that ended up in Maine, but later found records of Bella at the airport in Seattle, buying plane tickets to three major airports. Cameras show she actually walked up to all three gates, but ended up taking a flight to Salt Lake City. That was where the trail ran cold."

Phil nodded slowly in understanding, "She wanted to throw someone off her tracks." He frowned and asked, "But why walk to each gate?"

It was then that Clint pulled out a USB. He handed it to Phil with an intensely serious expression on his face, saying, "I have a theory, but it won't make sense unless you watch this. I pulled it from the Seattle P.D.'s database. They were baffled by it and figured it had to be a hoax of some kind."

Standing up while he quickly loaded the data, Phil pulled the files up on the modified and enhanced, three dimensional Smartboard installed on the office wall. Clint walked up to the screen and played a video file while explaining, "Once the P.D. realized Bella boarded a plane, they pulled up video from the parking lot. The day Bella disappeared, she parked her truck in the economy lot."

They both watched silently as Bella climbed out of her rusty old Chevy and grabbed a bag from the back. The girl looked absolutely defeated. Her shoulders were hunched over, like a great burden now rested on them, her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and the occasional silent tear spilled down her cheek. What struck a painful chord in both men, however, was the way she wrapped her arms around herself, clutching tightly at her sides like she was desperately trying to literally hold herself together. It didn't matter how tight her grip was, she was still falling apart before their very eyes.

It was hard for Clint to see her that way. The young woman he met earlier barely resembled the mess of a girl that climbed out of that truck. The Bella at lunch was harder somehow, in a way he couldn't really explain, and gave him the impression that a spine of steel lay hidden beneath her gentle exterior. The last eleven months must've instilled the fortitude within her that he so admired, because the Bella from nearly a year ago was painfully vulnerable. Her face was the very definition of desperation and heartbreak and her body language was that of a girl about to crumble.

Watching how utterly broken she looked just threw his protective instincts into overdrive. He knew he'd need to spend some serious time in the training room later, beating the shit out of a punching bag in order to relieve some of his fury. Maybe he'd even ask one of the other higher level agents to spar with him later.

He just really needed to punch something.

Bella suddenly dropped her bag and wiped the tears from her face. Clint smirked as her features twisted into a furious expression. He'd watched this a few times already, so he knew what was coming. As vulnerable as she looked back then, there was still a spark within her that reminded him of the strength he sensed in the Bella he met today. He had a feeling that spark had ignited a fire at some point and the woman he knew was forged in that flame. Honestly, it was kind of a turn on watching Bella in all her fury and he rewound it more than once just to watch her in action.

Phil tilted his head curiously as she disappeared back into the truck, wondering what Bella was up to. She reappeared with a can of black spray paint in hand and attacked her windshield with it. The agent's jaw dropped and he stared at the screen with wide, rounded eyes when Bella stepped back to admire her handiwork, allowing him to finally read the message she left. Clint couldn't hold back his laughter if he tried, he was beyond amused by Phil's stunned expression. It was a Kodak moment and Clint found himself regretting not bringing a camera with him. Phil obviously hadn't expected to see such fire from a girl who looked ready to crumble. Not much could shock Phil Coulson and Clint wished he could've captured the disbelieving look on his face on film.

"Well," Phil said, clearing his throat, "she's definitely got spirit. She's resilient, refusing to let this defeat her."

Clint nodded in agreement and began fastforwarding the video while he commented, "She's a tough little thing. Bella comes off as gentle and sweet in person, but there's just something about her that screams strength. She's perceptive too and extremely clever."

Clint slowed the video down after two days had passed. Turning towards Phil, he warned, "Watch carefully. I've never seen anything like what I'm about to show you."

Phil nodded seriously, taking Clint's warning to heart. Clint dealt with Captain America, Thor, and Ironman on occasion, which were all extremely odd and bizarre cases. Sometimes his job was just to check in with them, but other times he worked with them on high level missions, which meant he saw some pretty bizarre things up close. If Clint felt the need to warn him, then Phil knew he was about to see something both shocking and extraordinary.

Two blurs suddenly shot across the screen, coming to a stop in front of the truck. They moved too quickly for Phil to make out at first, but once they came to a stop, he realized he was looking at a man and a woman, both of which were eerily beautiful. The male looked no older than 20 or so while the woman looked just slightly older. Her most striking feature was her wild red hair.

"Bella knew someone would see that message, Coulson," Clint pointed out. "She knew they would find her truck."

Phil stepped closer to the screen while the redhead read the message Bella left for her on the windshield. The male began circling the truck in a predatory manner, lazily pacing around it like a lion circling its next meal. His movements were so unnaturally fluid and graceful that it unnerved Phil. The woman, on the other hand, behaved differently. She froze in place, stilling so completely that she resembled a marble statue. The hairs on the back of his neck started to rise when he realized she wasn't even breathing. Before he could point this out to Clint, the redhead finally reacted. The message Bella left for her must've struck a nerve, because she started to literally shake with fury. There was no audio available, but it looked like she was screaming something before she then began tearing into the truck with her bare hands, destroying it as if it were nothing more than a tin can.

"They have enhanced abilities," Phil murmured and Clint nodded in agreement. Not only were they capable of moving at amazing speeds, they were also incredibly strong.

After the truck was no more than a heap of scrap metal, the male attempted to calm the redhead down. A small fight broke out between the two before they left, moving just as fast as they did when they arrived.

Clint rewound the video and froze it before magnifying the male's face. Phil studied the image for a second and asked, "Do they both have red eyes?"

Clint nodded and pulled up a missing persons report. He placed it next to the magnified image and explained, "This is Riley Biers. He's from Bella's hometown and went missing from the same college Bella attended about three months after she started school there. I wasn't able to find a match for the redhead. It's like she doesn't exist."

"Look at how he's changed," Phil said, his voice reflecting his amazement. "It's like all of his features have been perfected and enhanced. He's also lost his tan. They're both extremely pale." He turned towards Clint and asked, "You said you had a theory?"

Clint nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, "You saw them. Enhanced speed, enhanced strength... even their looks are enhanced. What if _everything_ about them is enhanced? All of their senses?"

"Like their sense of smell," Phil said slowly, catching on, and turned back to the screen. "And Bella obviously knew it. That's why she walked to all three gates. She was laying a false scent trail so they couldn't tell which flight she took if they tracked her by scent. She has inside information and she used it against them."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Clint couldn't quite keep the smile off his face. Phil looked at him oddly and Clint shrugged, saying, "What? I'm just a little impressed. These two have every advantage over her physically, but it's been eleven months and she's still alive. Somehow, she's keeping one step ahead of them." He threw a pointed look at the screen and asked, "I mean, how's she doing it? How has she kept off the grid for so long?"

Phil paused a second, giving it some serious consideration. Clint made an excellent point. At the time she fled, Bella was only 20 years old. She was from a small town. Where did she learn the skills necessary to survive on the run?

"You said her father was Chief of Police and that he called off the Feds," Phil said eventually. "He knows something about it all. She's keeping in touch somehow. He gave her pointers."

"You really think her dad would let her run on her own?" Clint asked incredulously.

Phil shook his head, "No. This was Bella's decision, but she got in contact at some point. He probably tried getting her to come home, but if he knows what she's running from and she refused to return, he'd help her anyway he can."

"If that's true, she's being sneaky about it. They both are. Seattle P.D. kept an eye on Chief Swan for the first six months after Bella disappeared and they didn't find any indication that they've kept in contact," Clint said thoughtfully. He shrugged again, his smile returning, "Still impressed. Eleven months of looking over your shoulder is a long time, especially with enhanced people hunting you."

Phil's expression became pensive. He could understand now why Clint wanted to step in. Eleven months _was_ an incredible amount of time for anyone to spend on the run, especially someone who just turned old enough to legally drink.

"How much longer can she keep it up?" he wondered quietly.

"Exactly," Clint gruffly replied. Bella had to be getting weary. Eventually she'd slip up. He couldn't let that happen, his chest ached at the very thought of the two creatures on the screen in front of them catching up to her.

Phil rubbed his chin in thought. Obviously, this case was bigger than one girl on the run. There were people running around with enhanced abilities, ones they had no knowledge of until today. The two they now knew of were obviously violent. They killed one girl already and were hunting another. S.H.I.E.L.D. knew nothing about them, where they came from, what abilities they had, or how they gained those abilities. In fact, the only person who seemed to know anything at all was Bella Swan.

Phil sighed, realizing Fury would want her brought in. He turned to Clint and asked, "Any chance you know where Miss Swan is?"

An odd combination of relief and anxiety swept through Clint at that moment. For Bella's sake, he was relieved Phil wanted to get involved. At the same time, he felt a pang of anxiety because he knew there was a very big chance she was already in the wind. He had no guarantee Bella would do as she promised and meet him for lunch tomorrow. He had hope, though. He hoped that he made as big an impression on her as she did on him.

"I won't lie, Coulson. She could be in the wind by now," Clint admitted and Phil gave him a worried look, "but there's a small chance she'll meet me again for lunch tomorrow."

Phil almost snickered, but managed to catch it in time. Unfortunately, a small smile still escaped him. If he didn't know better, he'd say Clint was nervous. The idea alone entertained the hell out of him.

"You like her," he said with a knowing gleam.

"Well, she is kind of awesome," Clint deadpanned, fighting the urge to grin.

Phil smiled, "I'll take your word for it, Barton." He glanced back at the screen and sighed, "I'll send this to Fury. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you when he gets here."

Surprised, Clint threw him a questioning look and probed, "Fury's on his way here?"

Phil nodded and picked up the file he was reading when Clint first entered the room. He handed it to him while explaining, "Dr. Selvig noticed an odd reading. The Tesseract is... acting up. If the readings continue, we'll have to evacuate. How are things on your end?"

Clint flipped through the file, scanning the data, and replied, "The same. No texts, calls, IMs... No communication of any kind. The level's on lockdown. Nothing to cause this." He looked up and added, "I have Agent Thompson stationed down there at the moment."

"Who's beyond reproach," Phil murmured.

Clint nodded in agreement and handed the file back to Phil, "And I always review the surveillance footage when I come back from lunch. I've already reviewed it. I was gone longer today, but nothing happened in that time frame. There's no sign of tampering on our end."

Phil dropped the file on his desk with a sigh, looking thoughtful, and advised, "You'd better get down there and keep an eye on things. Something's happening, I just don't know what. Be ready."

"Yes, sir," Clint soberly replied. Opening the door, he paused and looked back, "Coulson, about the Swan case? Thank you."

Phil gave Clint a grim smile and warned, "Don't thank me yet, Barton. Depending on what she knows... Well, Bella Swan might hate you when everything's said and done for getting S.H.I.E.L.D. involved."

Clint knew he was right. Bella would likely be extremely pissed at him after lunchtime tomorrow, provided she actually showed up. Fury would obviously order Phil to bring her in, which meant the next conversation he had with Bella wasn't going to be nearly as enjoyable as the one they had today. She'd been extremely careful to avoid being caught on camera over the last eleven months, so Clint knew she wouldn't be thrilled with him when she realized he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Returning Phil's grim smile with one of his own, Clint said, "That's okay, Coulson, because she'll be alive to hate me. That's what matters."

With a final nod in Clint's direction, Phil pulled out his phone and called Fury. He turned to the screen on the wall and sent everything Clint saved on the USB to Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D. inbox while waiting for the call to connect. A copy of everything Clint printed out for him had been saved to the USB, which made Phil smile. It was much simpler to keep everything electronic, but Clint knew Phil liked to keep things more traditional. Phil preferred keeping things straight up old school, which was the only reason Clint bothered printing anything at all.

"Agent Coulson," Fury greeted, "do you have new information for me already? Was there another spike?"

Phil glanced at the door, making sure Clint closed it when he left, before responding, "Actually, sir, I thought you might like some reading material for your flight. I'm sending you everything Agent Barton just gave me on a young woman named Isabella Swan. It seems Barton stumbled onto a situation that would pique your interest, Director."

"An unrelated case?"

"Yes, sir," Phil replied.

The line fell silent while Fury went through the material Phil sent him. Phil waited patiently, giving him a few moments to absorb what he was seeing. When he was done, Fury sighed heavily and asked, "How in the hell did Barton _stumble_ onto this? The girl is from Washington, Coulson. That's across the country."

Phil chuckled and explained, "She may be from Washington, but she's here now, sir. Barton ran into her at lunch."

"On his burrito run?" Fury asked skeptically, a hint of incredulity in his tone. Of all the places for Barton to run into such a potentially huge case, that seemed to take the cake for the most random.

Phil laughed a little harder. Clint's eating habits were a bit of a running joke among the senior agents. To say Clint was a fan of Mexican food was an understatement. Still chuckling, Phil admitted, "Yes, sir. It seems Bella enjoys them too."

Fury sighed again, "Well, you know what I'm going to say. I want her brought in. In fact, I'll speak with her personally."

Phil nodded to himself, expecting that. When it came to new threats, Fury usually liked to be involved in some way. People with enhanced abilities S.H.I.E.L.D. knew nothing about, ones who had violent tendencies, were a big threat. It was right up his alley.

"That may be a problem, Director," Phil reluctantly revealed. "Bella's been on the run for eleven months. She's highly intelligent and cautious. Barton doesn't know where she's staying and there's a chance she's already in the wind."

"Then why I am sensing there's a but, Agent Coulson?" Fury challenged.

Phil smiled, "But we may have a small window of opportunity tomorrow. If she stuck around, Barton said she might meet him again for lunch."

Fury fell silent, putting two and two together. Barton obviously liked the girl. He made a lunch date with her _before_ he got back to base and ran a background check. That actually surprised Fury. Barton usually showed no interest in dating, convinced he wouldn't find a girl who would willingly date a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative. Barton's interest in her told him Isabella Swan was unique.

"So what you're telling me," Fury began, "is that Agent Barton needs to stay in the area even if we have to evacuate."

After his meeting with Coulson, Clint stopped at his locker and grabbed his side arm. He strapped the gun holster to his thigh and checked to make sure his gun was loaded before sliding it in. Before lunch, Clint had traded the gun for his bow. One of the weapon techs had been working on a new type of arrow for him, one that delivered an electrical charge. Clint spent the hour before lunch testing out the new arrow, getting a feel for its weight and limitations, which was the only reason he had it with him today at lunch. He was glad he had it on him, though. Things might've gone differently if he hadn't taken it with him.

Clint removed the bow and started to collapse the frame, but paused at the last second. He knew it was foolish, but the bow now reminded him of Bella. Every time he looked at it, he saw her gingerly stroking the metal frame and pictured her mirth filled eyes as she confessed her botched attempt at learning archery. It was by far the best memory he had in regards to that weapon and it made him hesitate when it came to stashing the bow in his locker. There was absolutely no reason for him to bring it down to the basement, yet Clint still found himself reluctant to put it away. If the base had to be evacuated later, Clint wouldn't get the chance to return for it.

Rolling his eyes at himself for being so sentimental, he unstrapped the quiver from his back and slid his jacket on before strapping the quiver over it. He then slung the bow over his head and shoulder, wearing it diagonally across his chest. He didn't plan on using it, but he couldn't leave it behind either. Somehow, it had become his lucky bow.

Clint glanced at the contents of the locker one more time, making sure he wasn't leaving behind anything important. Satisfied, he slammed it shut and turned his earpiece on. He then made his way down to the basement and over to Agent Thompson.

"Agent Barton," Thompson greeted and handed a S.H.I.E.L.D. issued tablet to him. The tablet, like every piece of S.H.I.E.L.D. technology, was top of the line and modified. To the casually observing eye, it actually looked like it was just a framed pane of glass when it was turned off. When it was on, the translucent glass was filled with anything that could be found on a laptop.

"Agent Thompson," Clint greeted in return. He glanced at the tablet and scrolled through the video footage of the last twenty minutes. "Any calls? Texts, emails... any communication to the outside world at all?"

"No, sir," Thompson replied. He glanced at the locked drawer of the desk reserved for security, where they locked up the staff's phones during the work day, and added, "Everything's still locked up."

Clint nodded and asked, "Besides the abnormal readings, anything else I should know about?"

"No, sir."

Clint looked around thoughtfully, noticing how Dr. Selvig and his assistants were practically buzzing with excitement, and decided, "I'd like you to stay here today. We may have to evacuate at some point and it might be helpful to have another set of eyes, just in case."

"Yes, sir," Thompson agreed.

Clint handed the tablet back to him, instructing, "Keep an eye out for any signs of communication with the outside world. I don't think you'll find any, though." He looked up at the concrete balcony on the second floor, overlooking the basement, and added, "I'll be up there, in my perch. Make sure your earpiece is tuned into channel two."

Thompson nodded in agreement and tucked the tablet away in one of the drawers of the security desk before resuming his post in front of it, his sharp eyes following the frenzied movements of the scientists around him. Clint walked over to Dr. Selvig and checked in with him before scaling the ladder leading up to the balcony. Settling into a familiar crouch, he loosely rested his arms over the lower bar of the yellow railing and studied the room below him.

Clint knew Fury probably hoped he'd take a more involved approach when it came to watching over the Tesseract, but he could honestly get a better idea of what was going on when he took a step back and watched from a distance. From this position, he could literally see everything that was happening in the room beneath him.

It was this same position that also clued him in on something extremely important, something he doubted Fury had thought about. With the way Dr. Selvig's equipment was set up, it almost looked like there was a runway in front of the Tesseract. That one random thought led him to another about how the Tesseract was considered a door. Doorways could be opened from both sides, right? So if Dr. Selvig hadn't opened that door from this side and the Tesseract was still acting up, then Clint had a feeling someone might be trying to open that door from the other side. Clint intended to be ready for the moment that door burst open.

While he ran his eyes over the busy figures below him, his thoughts once again drifted to Bella. If he were honest with himself, though, that wasn't quite true. In reality, his thoughts had never left her. A part of his mind was constantly centered on her, despite his best efforts to fill his thoughts with something else. He was worried about her. In fact, he was more worried about Bella than the weirdly behaving Tesseract in the room below him.

It was obvious to him now that she was being hunted, though it was still unclear _what_ , exactly, it was doing the hunting. Bella knew, of that he had no doubt. Knowing what was hunting her was the only reason she'd been able to keep herself alive.

He had to admit he was impressed with her ability to keep one step ahead of the threats moving against her. Buying tickets to three major airports was a clever move. Even if they hacked into the system and found out which flight she took, they wouldn't be able to figure out where she went after she landed in Salt Lake City. She could've taken one of the thousands of connecting flights available to her, hopped a bus, or a million other possibilities. Despite their enhancements, Bella still would've disappeared without a trace.

She was resourceful and Clint admired that. He had no idea just how capable she was when he first laid eyes on her. Yes, he figured out quickly that she was on the run, but the fact that she was still alive after eleven months of running impressed the hell out of him.

The first thing Clint did after returning to the base was run a background check on her. He couldn't seem to shake the uneasiness he felt from when he first realized she was in danger, so he checked into her past to put his fears to rest. Clint kept telling himself to let it go, to trust that Bella would call him if she ever did run into serious danger, but then he remembered why she wouldn't confide in him in the first place, her urge to protect him.

His uneasiness grew into full blown worry as realization dawned on him. Bella was being one hundred percent honest when she warned him she would never call. Whatever trouble she'd gotten caught up in was a life or death situation, because the only thing that could have made her so confident that she wouldn't use that number was the knowledge that calling him for help would mean his death.

With that in mind, he nearly let out a triumphant shout when he actually found something on her. The more he read, though, the more concerned he became. She hadn't surfaced once in the last eleven months and he quickly realized the Seattle P.D. was right, Bella Swan was the original target. Eventually, he got to the video footage of the airport parking lot and then it was all over. He already wanted to protect her, but that video pushed him into immediate action. As resourceful as she'd been, it would only take one mistake, one slip, for her life to end violently. That worrying revelation made his decision for him and he quickly printed out the information he'd gathered on her, saved the files to a USB, and taken it up to Coulson. He couldn't describe how relieved he was that Coulson had decided her case was worth looking into.

Clint's thoughts once again drifted to the video footage he witnessed. He played that video at least three times before what he was seeing truly sank in. He'd never seen anyone move that quickly, not once in his entire life. And the way that redhead tore into Bella's truck? Clint had to suppress a shiver. At first, a thrill of excitement and a shot of adrenaline raced through his veins, but then he realized the two... creatures, for lack of a better word, in that video were after Bella. She obviously knew it, too, or she wouldn't have left that message on her window. The idea of Bella being involved with those two unsettled him in a way that he couldn't properly define. It was an emotion that was completely foreign to him and his chest felt oddly tight. That tightness didn't ease until Coulson decided Bella's case was something he wanted to bring to Fury's attention.

Clint had no idea what he would find when he first started going through the police report he found on her, but that sure as hell wasn't it. Bella was involved in something bigger and more dangerous than he could possibly imagine and it worried him. It also made him incredibly impatient. Time was passing too slowly for him and he was anxious for tomorrow to come. He knew Fury would want her brought in for questioning and he intended to be there for that. He didn't just want his questions answered, though, he desperately wanted to help her.

Eleven months was an incredibly long time to spend looking over her shoulder and the thought of Bella being forced to run for that long made his chest ache. Clint knew what it was like to be hunted. He'd had to make a quick getaway more than once in the past, when his cover had been jeopardized. The longest he'd ever spent running, though, was about three weeks. Even then, he knew where he could find safe harbor. Getting to S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been his goal. Bella, on the other hand, didn't have a safe place to run to. She'd spent nearly a year running without an end in sight, just waiting for the day her past caught up with her. She had to be getting tired of running and Clint planned to be there to help her when she finally stopped.

Clint never wondered why Bella hadn't gone to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help in the first place. If he had, he might've realized why she didn't want help, why she was so determined to do things on her own. He might've understood that he wasn't the only person Bella wanted to protect. He might've realized that she never would've answered their questions, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. had actually gotten the chance to pull her in and interrogate her. He might've even figured out there was a whole other world that lived in the shadows, one depending on Bella not to bring their secrets into the light.

If he'd thought about it, Clint might've seen how desperately Bella was fighting to protect her supernatural friends, but he didn't. All he saw was a girl being forced to live a shadow of a life, one that he wanted to help.

How could he have known what he would find once he shined a spotlight into the dark shadows surrounding Bella Swan? How could he have possibly known that the Swan case was only the tip of the iceberg?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll be posting more later...


	4. Drifting Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fury arrives in the middle of an evacuation. Barton gives him a warning about the Tesseract that comes too late, putting his plans to help Bella in jeopardy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, this chapter is a little shorter than the last two, but the next one should be a bit longer, so it all evens out. Just so you are all aware, I did include quotes straight from the movie, so you can thank Marvel's amazing writers for that.
> 
> I'm warning you all right now that this chapter follows the movie. THINGS WILL CHANGE AFTER THIS CHAPTER. I promise the whole story will not be written like this. Bella returns next chapter and she just changes everything.
> 
> Now, here's what you need to know about this chapter: Clint pulls in a second team of men at the last minute to keep an eye on things and Fury brings three men with him when he comes down to the basement. That's important, because Loki is going to brainwash a few of them. Basically, Loki takes control of 7 men total, including Clint, Selvig, and Thompson, my O.C. Things will start to deviate from the movie after this and I needed those men to replace Clint later down the line. That doesn't make any sense to you right now, but it will in a future chapter. I'm also skipping over the car chase scene and the collapse of the base, but, basically, they just take two cars when they flee.
> 
> That's it. What are you waiting for?! Dig in!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the Avengers. Stephanie Meyer and Marvel own it all. I just have a thing for secret agents and a soft spot for Clint.

As the warm, New Mexican sun slowly dipped beneath the horizon and night descended, S.H.I.E.L.D. slowly began to start the evacuation process. Down in the basement, on sub level one, tensions were high and the Tesseract was acting up like never before. In the last few hours, the Tesseract had literally come to life and was behaving in a way that baffled Dr. Selvig and his staff, mainly because it was _behaving_ at all.

Dr. Selvig had spent the last few months researching the Tesseract, trying to develop a way for S.H.I.E.L.D. to safely harness it, but he was nowhere near ready for an event like this. Like Howard Stark, he thought the Tesseract could very well be the key to unlimited, sustainable energy. In fact, if what he had discovered over the course of his research was correct, the cube itself _was_ unlimited sustainable energy, but they still didn't know how to harness it. Though he honestly believed they were well on their way to learning how to use it to accomplish their goals, they weren't ready to do it at that very moment and wouldn't be for quite some time.

Dr. Selvig was merely in the research stage, so when the Tesseract randomly powered up, shocking them all, he couldn't figure out how to get it to power back down. Anytime they tried to turn it off, so to speak, it simply turned itself back on. Since they didn't have a way to harness all of the energy it was suddenly producing, that energy had nowhere to go. They couldn't shut it off, redirect it, or even stabilize it, so the entire base was now in jeopardy.

And it looked like they were all going to be in for one rough fucking night.

At first, things didn't seem so dire. There was a spike of energy here and there, but it didn't look all that dangerous. Then the spikes grew more intense and started happening more frequently. Before they knew it, the Tesseract was producing waves of icy blue energy and throwing out low level gamma radiation. Since security was definitely more his thing than science was, Clint warily kept an eye on things while Dr. Selvig scrambled to keep up.

After consulting with Clint via his earpiece about the now constant level of baffling activity, Coulson decided to start the evacuation process. Clint emphatically agreed with his decision and called in a tactical unit, deciding it would be best to have more men in the room below him just in case they needed to pack things up in a hurry. The four man team took up posts around the room, automatic weapons in hand, while Coulson activated the sirens and lights that signaled the need to evacuate.

Pressing on his earpiece, Clint spoke to Agent Thompson, who was still at his post below, "Everyone's leaving but us, Thompson. Tell the Doc the level's on lockdown. No one in or out until Fury gives the order."

Glancing up at Clint's perch, Thompson gave him a quick hand signal indicating he got the message and approached Dr. Selvig. One of the men from the tactical unit took up position next to the only exit in the room and Clint nodded at him in acknowledgment. 

Taking note of just how active the Tesseract was growing, Clint decided to call in another four man team at the last second to add to their security detail. Usually, Clint wouldn't have bothered with the extra precaution, confident the six of them could handle anything that came their way, but he found his thoughts wandering more than normal and he didn't like the idea of facing a threat without more backup if he wasn't able to give the mission his undivided attention.

Today, his focus was split between the Tesseract and Bella, which was unusual for Clint. Normally, Clint was able to empty his mind of everything but the mission at hand. No matter how hard he tried, though, Clint couldn't stop thinking about Bella. His worry for her settled heavily on his chest and Clint found it surprisingly hard to think of anything else. It took a conscious effort for him to stay focused on the events happening in the room beneath him.

After the last of the sun's rays finally disappeared, cloaking the base fully in darkness, the temperature dropped and Clint slipped on a pair of fingerless gloves. The desert was a place of extremes. It could literally be sweltering at noon and below freezing at midnight, so Clint was prepared. As he tugged them on, Coulson caught his attention via his earpiece and reported, "Fury's been briefed. He's on the way to you, Barton. ETA two minutes."

"Understood," Clint quickly replied. He paused contemplatively, taking in Dr. Selvig's frenzied excitement and the way the blue energy spiked and surged in the middle of the room, before adding, "I'd hurry things up, if you can, Coulson. It's starting to get exciting down here."

By the time Fury showed up, Clint realized Dr. Selvig's excitement was just another mask for his panic. When everything was said and done, the good doctor had no idea why the Tesseract was so active and if he didn't figure out a way to stabilize it, it was going to bury the whole base.

Clint watched intently from his perch as Dr. Selvig did his best to explain the current situation to Fury and actually had to stifle a laugh. Oddly enough, Clint was pretty sure he knew more about what was happening than Selvig did. The brilliant doctor couldn't figure out why the Tesseract was suddenly so active, but Clint had an overwhelming instinct that Selvig wasn't even asking the right question. Instead of asking _why_ , he should've been asking _who_. Who was trying to open the door from the other side?

Even though, like Clint, Director Fury was no scientist, he got the gist of the situation. Now that Selvig had filled him in and he understood what was happening, he just needed to understand why. Scanning the room for the agent he hoped would help him figure that part out, Fury asked, "Where's Agent Barton?"

"The hawk?" Dr. Selvig clarified, sounding amused. He glanced over his shoulder, his gaze landing on Clint's perch. "Up in his nest, as usual."

Following his gaze, Fury trained his eye on Clint and pressed on his earpiece, ordering, "Agent Barton, report."

Nodding to himself, Clint straightened up and climbed over the railing. With the ease of someone who had done it hundreds of times before, he grabbed the rope he attached to the ceiling the first night he spent on base and slid down it. Fury met him at the bottom and Clint gave him a tense nod.

Fury eyed him thoughtfully, noticing something was different about his best agent, something he couldn't quite pinpoint. Agent Barton was usually always intense when it came to his work, but Fury thought he looked even more intense than normal. No, that wasn't quite right. Barton looked _worried_ and that actually unnerved Fury.

Clint Barton was a hard man to read. Fear didn't have the same effect on him that it did on normal men and that made his tells nearly nonexistent. With fear came adrenaline and Clint Barton loved the feel of adrenaline. In fact, he damn near thrived on it. He often reacted to the most dangerous of situations as casually as a man out for a Sunday stroll and very rarely looked surprised or concerned about anything he encountered on the job, so to see him worried? It bothered Fury much more than anything else he had seen or heard since he stepped off the helicopter fifteen minutes ago. A worried Clint was a fucking rarity and it set the normally calm and collected Director on edge.

"Which case is bothering you, Agent Barton?" Fury asked point blank.

Clint let go of the rope and straightened his jacket while he answered, "The new one."

Fury nodded slowly, feeling less concerned now that he knew Clint wasn't bothered by the way the Tesseract was acting up. He could actually understand why the Swan case worried Clint. Well, at least he _thought_ he understood. The two Enhanced in that video had alarming abilities and Clint would likely end up coming face to face with those threats at some point, so it made sense to Fury that he would be a little concerned about it.

Usually, they had some idea about what they were getting into before they stepped in, but they currently had no solid information on the threat this time around. They couldn't even recon the situation to get a better understanding of what they were dealing with. Unfortunately, Bella Swan was their one and only hope of learning anything at all and, even if they brought her in and interrogated her, there was no guarantee she would tell them anything.

Bella was quite clearly the victim in the Swan case. She wasn't a suspect or criminal, she was the one being hunted, so if Bella refused to answer their questions? They had no legal basis to hold her. Sure, they could make her life a living hell or threaten to turn her over to Seattle P.D. for questioning, but Fury and Clint both knew Bella was extremely intelligent and perceptive. She would likely figure out that they would never follow through on those threats, aware that all it would accomplish was the death of an innocent girl. When everything was said and done, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't force her to say a word, so they would only learn what Bella Swan _wanted_ to tell them. If she didn't want to share her story or refused to comment on the video Clint unearthed, there wasn't a damn thing they could actually do about it.

If that happened, the only thing they could do was tail her. The problem with that was how talented Bella was at disappearing. Bruce Banner had been on the run for two years longer than Bella, but even Banner wasn't quite as adept at it as Bella was. She literally had not been caught by one single camera after she dropped beneath the radar.

Though Banner was cautious, he'd been spotted more than once over the last three years. But Bella? Fury honestly wasn't sure how she did it. He was actually starting to wonder if it was possible that she was avoiding cities in general, which was where most people slipped up and got themselves caught by a camera on a cell phone or an ATM machine. Small towns were generally safer because they didn't invest in things like surveillance cameras as much as businesses and homes in a city did. Most people assumed it was easier to disappear in a big city because of how populated they were, but Fury was beginning to think Bella was cleverer than that.

If Bella Swan stayed away from city life, then she was truly living on the fringes of society. Small towns didn't usually accept strangers with open arms, so if Bella actually was avoiding cities, then Fury would be truly impressed. It was an incredibly lonely way to live and he admired anyone who had the fortitude and determination it took to live a life like that.

Fury suspected Bella might refuse to answer their questions, but Clint hadn't actually thought that far ahead yet. While Fury was understandably worried about the unknown threat, Clint was solely worried about _her_. It never even occurred to him that Bella might refuse to answer their questions, not with threats like the creatures on that video stalking her. Clint thought she might even be relieved to find out she didn't need to run anymore, that S.H.I.E.L.D. would protect her. In actuality, what worried him was getting to her in time to help her. Even now, there was a chance that she'd somehow slipped up and those creatures had caught up to her. The longer she was out there, running, the greater the risk was that she would meet a violent end.

Nodding thoughtfully, Fury ordered, "You're to stay in the area after we evacuate. If she shows up, I want Miss Swan brought in tomorrow. We'll interview her here, provided this place survives the night."

A particular powerful spike of energy shook the room and Clint gave Fury a bit of an amused look, "And if it doesn't?"

"The local field office would do," Fury said easily and began walking towards the Tesseract. Knowing the drill, Clint kept pace with him.

While he kept his eyes forward, trained on the energy cube in the center of the room, his mind was elsewhere. Thoughts once again focused on Bella, Clint asked, "And if she's already in the wind?"

"Then you'll take a quinjet to Forks," Fury stated and Clint's gaze snapped up to his face. Fury glanced at him and explained, "Coulson believes Chief Swan may be keeping in contact with her somehow. He knows something. Find out what he knows and see if he'll help us track his talented daughter down."

Against his will, Clint's lips started to curve. _Talented_. He thought that was an excellent way to describe Bella Swan, because it definitely took talent to do what she did. Very few people could disappear so completely, not without leaving the country entirely.

Clint hadn't thought about going to Forks if he couldn't find Bella, but it made sense. A wave of relief swept through him when he realized there might be another way to find her, though the suggestion brought new questions to mind. The part of him constantly focused on Bella wondered why the people hunting her hadn't tried that very same thing. In truth, he thought they likely had, which meant Bella's dad was probably a dead end. It was entirely possible Bella only spoke with him once and then he hadn't heard from her again. If he told her what she needed to know to keep hidden and Bella hadn't contacted him since, then Charlie Swan had no idea where his daughter was.

Still, it was a lead, and Clint was grateful for it. It eased his mind considerably just to think it was possible to reach Bella another way.

If her father _did_ know where Bella was, though, then why hadn't the threats hunting her used him to draw her out? He could only think of two logical reasons why they wouldn't use him against her. Either they doubted he knew anything or believed she wouldn't come for him. There was a third possibility, but Clint found it highly unlikely after witnessing the speed and strength they were capable of. That third possibility was that they couldn't get to him, which would mean he was protected somehow. Clint dismissed that thought immediately, realizing that if Charlie Swan were able to protect himself against the threats Clint saw in that video, then he'd have the means to protect his daughter too.

Since Bella was still on the run, that didn't seem likely.

Remembering how fondly Bella recalled a memory of her father during lunch, Clint realized anyone who knew her knew Bella would come for her father if they got their hands on him. That left one possibility.

They didn't think he knew anything.

In reality, though Clint didn't know it, it was actually a combination of all three that kept Victoria from using Charlie Swan to draw Bella out. Not only would she have to wage war just to get to him, she also doubted he knew anything and that Bella would come for him even if he did. She honestly thought there was more of a chance that Bella would stop by her mother's in Jacksonville, just to verify she was alive with her own eyes, than the chance that she would call her father, which was why there was a vampire watching the Dwyers at all times.

Victoria would gladly kill them to draw Bella out, but she couldn't do that until she was sure Bella would find out about it somehow. If the mousy girl never called home or ventured near Jacksonville, then how would Bella even find out about their deaths?

Bella was aware that checking on her mother was a death sentence waiting to happen, for both of them, so she stayed far away from Florida. Bella had learned from her experience with James. She knew he only used Renee's voice to draw her out because Bella had been in the area, which was why she refused to call her mother, let alone go anywhere near her.

Charlie was different since he lived on the Res., where the wolves could protect him. Even so, she didn't risk calling Charlie for the first three months after she disappeared, only contacting him by email. Victoria had Riley listen in on his phone calls whenever he left the Res., but pulled him back when it became obvious to the redhead that Bella didn't care if her parents knew what was happening or why she disappeared. She hadn't thought Bella would call him anyways, not when she remembered the cruel words Bella said to the man the first time she and James began hunting her. In her mind, the girl had a heart of stone and deserved everything she had coming to her.

After Fury's decision, Clint tried his best to bury anymore thoughts of Bella until tomorrow. He hadn't taken more than a second or so to think through all those possibilities, but Fury still noticed and was watching him curiously. Clint cocked an expectant eyebrow at the man and Fury focused his hard gaze on the rest of the room.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury added, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Well, I see better from a distance," Clint responded indifferently, clearly unruffled. When it came down to it, Fury didn't have a problem with the way Clint did things. His methods weren't always what Fury expected, but he got results and that's what Fury ultimately cared about.

Fury’s annoyance vanished as quickly as it came. The man couldn't argue with that, Clint generally did see things more clearly when he took a step back. He glanced at Clint before pointedly training his eye on the Tesseract, "You seen anything that might set this thing off?"

"No one's come or gone," Clint reported as they came to a stop near the overactive energy cube. "Selvig's clean," he added, glancing over his shoulder at the doctor, who was working with one of his assistants on something at one of the high powered computers behind them. He crossed his arms over his chest, "No contacts, IMs." He glanced at Fury before training his gaze on the Tesseract again, finishing with, "If there's any tampering, sir, it's not at this end."

"At this end..." Fury repeated slowly, turning to look at Clint, a spark of wariness igniting in his eye.

"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?" he asked and met Fury's gaze, watching as understanding started to dawn on him. He'd had a feeling the Director hadn't thought about this and fought a smirk as he casually pointed out, "Doors open from both sides."

The words were barely out of his mouth before the energy the Tesseract emitted once again surged, flaring outward. They both took a cautious step backwards and it spiked several more times in rapid succession, making the entire complex shake and the ground rumble beneath the feet of the people in the process of evacuating upstairs.

They watched cautiously as the blue energy crackled and flared again before a stream of icy blue energy shot forth in a concentrated beam, running the length of the sub level, and hit the platform set up on the other side of the room. The energy collided with the platform and rebounded upward, racing up the walls. Leftover energy started gathering near the ceiling and Clint cautiously took note of it. The Tesseract spiked again, throwing out a stronger burst of energy, and then it happened. For a fleeting few seconds, they were looking through a portal into the other end of space.

Abruptly, that portal seemed to collapse in on itself, pulling inward to form a ball of white energy around the size of a boulder. That boulder started to take shape and, suddenly, the light died. It took a second for their eyes to readjust to the sudden lack of light, but once they did, their gazes fell on the figure of a man who hadn't been there just seconds ago.

Clint studied the man for a moment, immediately taking in his odd outfit. Silently, he noted how similar it looked to the Asgardian outfit Thor donned after he finally retrieved his hammer. Instead of red and gold, the man was decked out in green. Unlike Thor, though, Clint didn't get a good feeling from the man kneeling on the platform in front of them. The spear in his hand made Clint uneasy and the distinctly predatory smile on his face set him on high alert.

"Sir," Fury called out, his voice commanding, "please, put down the spear."

Clint's hand inched towards the gun strapped to his leg as their uninvited guest stared at them. He looked at the spear questioningly, as if he were saying, "What, this spear?" and Clint subtly tensed, sensing their visitor had malicious intent.

Instead of lowering his weapon, the stranger pointed it at Fury, and a burst of blue energy exploded out of it, barreling straight towards the Director. Clint didn't have time to think and reacted purely on instinct, throwing himself at Fury. They both hit the ground with a grunt, colliding with a metallic grate built into the floor. The deadly energy aimed at them sailed right over their heads, taking out a piece of equipment in a bright explosion of white and blue light.

The teams Clint called in immediately opened fire and Clint quickly pulled out his side arm to join them. He launched himself to his feet and slipped away from Fury, doing his damnedest to distract their guest so Fury would have a chance to grab the Tesseract.

The firefight didn't last long. Like Thor, the stranger in front of them was extremely talented in combat and the spear he was using created blasts just as deadly as any grenade. He took out two more of Clint's men by throwing knives their way at a speed that astonished Clint. He aimed his spear Clint's way again and Clint didn't hesitate, throwing himself to the right.

The blast hit closer this time, but Clint was still unharmed. He glanced over his shoulder to take in the damage before starting to get to his feet, mentally cursing when he realized the men behind him had kept firing instead of ducking like he did. It only took one glance to see that the four behind him were dead, their bodies scattered across the room. His heart clenched with remorse when he realized seven of the nine men he stationed in the basement were dead now. He had led them to their deaths.

Only one of the original eight he added to the detail tonight was still alive. Thompson, who Clint had personally trained, had also somehow survived, as well as three men Fury brought with him when he came downstairs. Fury himself and Selvig, who Thompson had forced to the ground when a blast from the spear had been aimed in their direction, had also survived the fight.

Clint was the first to his feet, but the man he would later come to learn was Loki, the god of chaos, mischief, and lies, was on him as soon as he turned around. He futilely tried to attack, but as amazing as his reflexes were, Loki's were even better. Loki grabbed his hand mid swing, holding it at an awkward angle that forced Clint to instinctively still. Realizing his fate now rested in the hands of the man who killed off his men, Clint defiantly locked eyes with him.

"You have heart," Loki cryptically stated and aimed the spear at Clint, gently touching his chest with the curved blade forming the tip.

Clint kept his eyes on Loki's, half expecting Loki to thrust that sharp blade into his heart. Instead, the spear once again lit up with blue energy, racing up the blade to Clint's chest. It was painfully cold and Clint nearly expected to see his breath when his skin felt like it was starting to freeze.

As that chilling sensation of ice worked its way inward, spreading to his heart, Clint's thoughts yet again drifted to Bella. That chilling sensation flowed through his veins, crawling its way up his neck, and finally settled in his brain. His mind grew foggy and one final thought, the very last one that could truly be called his own, flashed through his mind, _I'm going to miss my lunch date._


	5. An Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella gets an unexpected surprise and makes a difficult decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here we go... before I forget, for the sake of this story, Bella knows newly created vampires are called newborns. She also knows they're stronger and faster than older vamps, but she learned that through the pack, not Jasper. I'm giving you all a huge, gigantic warning about this chapter right now- Clint is not in it. I backtrack a bit in this chapter and bring us all back to Bella's side of things. This chapter is going to fill you all in on what Bella spent her day doing after Clint left her and really gives us a peek into what kind of life Bella's been living in the last eleven months. It's a little more emotional and also shows us what kind of effect her lunch with Clint had on her.
> 
> I think it's actually really important to take a step back and realize Bella has been living an incredibly lonely life over the last year. The next chapter will have Clint and Bella both, so if you're wondering when they'll be reunited... well, wonder no longer because I kinda just told you, lol.
> 
> Disclaimer: Marvel and Stephanie Meyer own all things Avengers and Twilight. Those lucky bastards. I just wanted to see what would happen if Bella popped up on Clint's burrito run...

In a foreclosed house on the furthest edges of town, Bella Swan had given herself over to slumber's sweet embrace. Tucked inside a sleeping bag in the corner of a bedroom on the second floor, Bella slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of the utter chaos sweeping over the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to the north. She had fallen into a deep and relaxed dream, resting more soundly than she had in years. Even so, Bella was easily pulled from that deep, welcoming slumber when the entire house began to shake.

The portal Loki had opened collapsed in on itself, triggering a violent explosion that buried the base. The surrounding land violently pitched and rolled in response. Consequently, every structure within a hundred miles shook with tremors and Bella drowsily noted it when the abandoned house she was squatting in started to tremble. The tremors faded quickly and, idly wondering if it might've been a minor earthquake, Bella's sleepy mind dismissed it entirely. Turning onto her side, she readjusted her pillow and her weary eyes fell closed once more.

Unbeknownst to her, those tremors were just the start. Her entire life was once again about to change and her world was about to expand in a way she couldn't have possibly imagined. The house might've been the one to tremble, but it was Bella Swan who was about to be shaken to her core.

After Clint and Bella parted ways earlier in the day, Bella didn't linger long in the town square. She felt incredibly conflicted as she watched Clint drive off, the part of her that wanted to protect him battling with the part of her that wanted to see him again, and it frustrated her that she couldn't do both. If anyone looked into her eyes at that second, they would've easily seen the battle brewing inside her and shuddered at the sheer intensity of the conflict rising in those chocolate orbs. Staying at all put him in jeopardy, especially since she'd already spent too long here as it was, but she truly wanted to keep her promise and meet him for lunch tomorrow.

As soon as that dangerously handsome devil and his motorcycle disappeared, she let out a pained sigh and headed towards her car. Until she knew if that package had finally arrived, there was simply no point in debating whether or not she should risk staying another day. If it wasn't here yet, she'd have to stay anyway and having lunch with Clint again wouldn't be a bad way to spend her free time while waiting for the mail to come. Deciding not to dilly dally, she climbed into her dark green SUV and drove to the post office to check the P.O. box Charlie had set up for her.

Parking across the street, she fished a dark blue baseball cap out of her messenger bag and stuck it on, pulling the front of it downward to hide her face from any cameras set up inside. Bella hadn't needed the hat at lunch. She knew for a fact that the taco stand didn't have any surveillance cameras. The post office, on the other hand, was a government building, which meant cameras were a guarantee.

Bella hadn't chosen to visit this town randomly. It was the one small town that she visited on purpose. After Bella sent Charlie an email with her location last week, as she often did, he noticed she wasn't far from a town he recognized and told her to make a stop there, promising he could send her some badly needed funds if she drifted in that direction. Apparently, Charlie had a good friend who lived somewhere nearby, one he emailed and asked for help in order to set up a P.O. box. His friend left the key in an envelope with her first name on it at the cash register and Bella picked it up the first day she rolled into town. Since it was such a small town, the people who worked inside genuinely didn't mind holding onto it for her.

She didn't doubt that Charlie had taken all sorts of precautions when he put the package he was sending her in the mail. Her dad could be extremely resourceful when he wanted to be and he wouldn't have shipped her anything at all if he thought there was even the slightest risk that a vampire would follow that package straight to her. After everything she'd been through in the last eleven months, she was confident her dad found a way to get it to her secretly. It wouldn't have surprised her if he even asked one of the wolves to ship it off for him, aware they would sense it if a vampire was nearby watching. She had no idea just how sneaky her father could be until after she fled Washington.

Bella often wondered how Charlie came up with half the things he did. Her own personal theory was that her dad had all the makings of a criminal mastermind and the potential to be extremely good at it if he ever decided to venture down such a dark career path. She had a very strong feeling that his mind wandered whenever he arrested people, thinking about how they could've gotten away with the various crimes they committed if only they'd done something slightly different. The idea that he kept those things in mind and passed those tips onto Bella when she disappeared actually made her smile.

It was either that or her dad was some type of former secret agent, because the things he'd come up with over the last eleven months? Let's just say the CIA could've benefited from Charlie Swan's ingenuity.

Bella was in and out in under a minute, trying not to think too hard about how disappointed she felt when she caught sight of the thick manila envelope inside. She knew it was stupid, but she was hoping that package wouldn't come until tomorrow. If she had to wait another day for the mail to arrive, then she had an excuse not to leave the area at dawn. The envelope couldn't have weighed more than a pound or two, if even that, and yet Bella's bag felt so much heavier now with that envelope resting inside it.

She was keenly aware of that weight the entire drive back to the house she was squatting in. Bella felt pressured to move on now that she had it, to pack up her things and put this town in her review mirror. The thing was, every fiber of her being violently protested at the thought. She didn't want to leave yet, she wasn't ready to move on, and the mere idea tore her up inside. It actually hurt to breathe and she rubbed at her aching chest as she turned onto the road that led to the outer edges of town.

For the last three years, Bella had been painfully aware something inside of her was broken. After the Cullens left, a part of Bella had died inside and it was easier to let herself slip into numbness than to deal with that pain. Refusing to let her drown in that numbed and hollow abyss, Jake had revived a small part of her, painstakingly taping what remained of the shattered pieces of her broken heart back together. Bella was beyond grateful for his efforts. He'd restored a small piece of her that she once thought was lost forever, but now... now, it was different. She no longer felt like a piece of her had died inside or like she was broken beyond repair.

Bella felt like she was finally waking up, like she'd unknowingly spent the last three years in a hazy stupor and now her thoughts were finally starting to clear. It was like trading a foggy lens for one with a crystal clarity, one that finally allowed her to see the blindingly beautiful world around her. She felt... well, that was the thing, she actually _felt_.

With one simple conversation, Clint had mended the fractured part of her soul and Bella reveled in how utterly alive she felt. It was electrifying and the idea of walking away from him? When Clint made her feel so incredibly alive? It hurt in an agonizingly painful way.

Bella's grip tightened on the steering wheel and she took in a deep, fortifying breath, trying her best to bury her new, conflicted emotions. She didn't understand why Clint had such a powerful effect on her and she had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, she felt whole for the first time in years, like she wasn't as damaged as she once believed herself to be. She reveled in that knowledge, grateful for once again feeling complete. On the other hand, feeling again meant she also felt pain. And, oddly enough, it was the idea of never seeing Clint again that crippled her the most.

 _Get it together, Bella,_ she told herself. _If you stick around, he dies. Can you live with that?_

It felt like her soul spasmed in response. Pain ripped through her uncontrollably and her breath caught at the shockingly vicious intensity of it all. Bella steeled herself, more determined than ever to protect Clint from the vampires hunting her, and the pain slowly started to ease. Baffled, Bella shook her head. She honestly didn't know if all of the emotions suddenly sweeping through her were really as intense as they felt or if they only seemed that way because she had been numb for so long. Before now, she had only felt the barest whispers of emotion. Now it was like the volume of those emotions had been cranked all the way up and they were furiously shouting in her ear.

Still, even the painful emotions were something she was grateful for. They were a reminder that she was more than just an empty shell, a zombie. It was an amazing and incredibly freeing thing, to finally feel alive again.

Unprepared to deal with it all, Bella did what she always did whenever she encountered pain and battled it back, futilely trying to bury it down deep. Shoving all thoughts Clint related to the back of her mind, Bella focused solely on the drive. Recognizing her turn up ahead, she sped up a little and guided the car onto the dirt road that would take her up to the house.

For the first month or so, Bella usually stayed in small motels. Paying for a bed every night, however, was more costly than she anticipated, despite the fact that she often stayed in the cheapest motels she could find. Not only did the cost start to take a toll on her, she also realized that not every small town she stayed in actually had a motel. So, Bella had to adapt. Charlie dropped her a hint about foreclosures in the area and, posing as a potential buyer who made her money flipping houses, Bella quickly discovered that she could get a list of the area's most recent ones from the local bank.

She didn't always stay in small towns, but she did try to avoid big cities as much as possible. Big cities meant there was a greater possibility she might run into a vampire. It was easier for vampires and their hunting activities to go unnoticed in a city, which was why she tried to avoid them. Bella knew her blood was more tempting than most, though she really didn't understand _why_ it was so appealing, and she decided it was best not to press her luck.

When she had no choice but to spend a couple of nights in a city, she always stayed at a motel, where she knew it would be difficult for a vampire attacking her to go unnoticed. It was only in the smaller towns that Bella looked for foreclosures to squat in.

There was a plus side to breaking into foreclosed houses. The most recent ones were often cases of repossession, meaning the bank evicted the owners and, many times, those owners came home to find padlocks on the doors. Unable to get back in, their possessions were often still inside. Bella quickly figured out that if she managed to find a foreclosed house like that, the banks that owned those houses usually didn't shut the water and electricity off right away.

The first few times she did it, Bella literally had to break in. Feeling guilty about the damage she inflicted on those houses, she went to a local pawn shop and found the same type of padlock most of the small town banks used. Finding a lock picking kit, however, was a little more difficult.

Eventually, she bought a visa gift card from a local grocery store and then used it to order a kit from amazon on her phone, overnighting it to the place she was staying. It took her a good three weeks to do it, but Bella eventually taught herself how to pick the lock. Grudgingly, she had to admit she probably wouldn't have figured it out at all if weren't for a certain YouTube video, but she was still incredibly proud of herself for mastering the skill.

Amused, Bella shook her head and chuckled. That was definitely something she'd never thought she'd say, that she was proud of herself for figuring out how to pick a lot.

Finding a place to lay her head became so much easier after that. Just to be on the safe side, she only chose the most recent, _remote_ foreclosures, and stayed far away from anything that resembled a suburb. Isolated properties were the best because she could move around without catching a wary neighbor's attention. She bought a pillow and sleeping bag early on and often set them up on a couch or the floor, avoiding the beds in the houses she stayed in.

The idea of sleeping in someone else's bed was something that actually freaked her out and Bella just couldn't bring herself to do it, so her sleeping bag ended up being her smartest investment. It wasn't always comfortable, but she had a roof over her head, somewhere warm to sleep, and running water; she couldn’t complain.

The current property Bella was using was on the outskirts of town, a good ten miles away from any neighbors. It was a two story house with yellow siding and a spacious front porch. There was a slight overhang on the right side of the house, which meant Bella could slip out the second story window and onto the roof if she ever needed to. There was a long, winding dirt road that led to the driveway and Bella could easily pick up on the sounds of any cars that turned onto the road from inside the house. All in all, it was one of the better places that she'd stayed at, tactically speaking.

What Bella didn't know was just how close that house was to a certain secret base. From the backyard, one could literally see the mountains where S.H.I.E.L.D. had chosen to build the base that Clint was stationed at. In total, it was only about a fifteen minute drive away.

Bella parked her SUV out back, hiding it behind the storage shed near the back of the house, and entered through the backdoor. Just to be on the cautious side, she never used front doors and always locked the backdoors up again with the padlock anytime she left the houses she stayed in.

Pulling her kit out of her bag, Bella unlocked the padlock and pushed the door open. She listened closely for a second, making sure the coast was clear. It wasn't really noise that she was listening for, but rather the _absence_ of it. It wasn't hard for Bella to train her ears to pick up on the slightest sounds and she never stepped inside a house that sounded unnaturally quiet. After what she discovered in her darkened dorm room that fateful night in Seattle, she quickly realized that a place that sounded unnaturally quiet was a place she needed to avoid.

Picking up on the sound of a fan, assuring her all was well, Bella nodded to herself and stepped inside. She slipped into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water before trudging her way up the stairs. Whenever possible, Bella stayed on the second floor, picking a room that had a view of the front door and a window she could climb out of if someone ever caught her by surprise.

She wasn't sure if it would work, but she figured she could slip out the window and onto the roof if she ever heard the door opening. Depending on how closely a vampire was listening, she assumed the insulated wall would be just enough to muffle her heartbeat and the sound of her breathing. Bella knew it was likely just a pipe dream, but she hoped she could fool any vampire that showed up into thinking they just missed her. If necessary, she could even climb down the side of the house and sprint to her car. Hopefully, she'd never find herself in a position like that, but she felt more secure just knowing she had an exit route in place. With vampires like Victoria hunting her, she couldn't be too careful.

Glancing around, Bella took off her messenger bag and set it down on the floor next to the sleeping bag she'd laid out in the corner of the room. She kicked off her shoes and sat down on the bag, wearily running a hand through her hair as she got comfortable. Grimacing slightly, she shifted again and pulled out the gun she kept stashed in the back of her jeans, setting the weapon down on the floor next to her. With a sigh, she leaned back against the wall and fished the envelope out of her bag. Smiling sadly, she tore it open and pulled out the thick letter inside it, setting aside the money her father sent her until she was done reading.

Bella had been looking forward to this for months. She knew Charlie would take advantage of the fact that she needed money at some point and send a letter with it, catching her up on everything she'd missed out on back home. Even though they kept in touch via email, neither Swan risked sending too many personal details in those messages and anything wolf related was something they tried to avoid. Surprisingly, the letter was easily a dozen pages long and a shocked gasp of air escaped her when she realized why. It was a collection of letters. Everyone in the pack had sent her a short message.

Bella laughed to herself as she read her father's explanation. Apparently her friends were talking about her one night at one of their bonfires on the beach, fantasizing about what she was up to now and wondering if she'd changed at all. Charlie told them all to write her a letter about what was going on in their lives, promising to hold onto them for her until the day she finally came home. They thought Charlie still had them when, in reality, he'd actually sent them to her.

 _He really is a sneaky bastard,_ she thought with a fond smile, her eyes brimming with tears.

Excited and more than a little hopeful, she pressed the letter from her dad to her face for a second, delighted when she caught a faint scent, a hint of her dad's familiar cologne. Smiling, she lowered it back down and picked up from where she left off.

 _"They all picture you happy, kid. They know what you've done for them and that you probably hate the life you're living now,"_ Charlie wrote, _"but that's not how they picture you. They picture you smiling. Really smiling, not like that fake one you wore the last time I saw you. No, more like the smile you wear every time you jump off that idiotic cliff."_

Bella laughed softly and a tear spilled down her cheek. She wiped it away and flipped the page over to see what else he wrote, _"I still don't understand why you kids love pulling that stupid stunt, but I let you maniacs get away with it because of that beautiful smile, Bells. I hope they're right. I hope you smiled that way earlier today and that you do it again tomorrow. Seth even hopes you settled down somewhere and fell in love. I didn't have the heart to tell him you 'probably' haven't. Leah thinks you've gotta be happier wherever you are now than when you were here, without the memories of that 'family' holding you back. I hope she's right. I wish you could come home, Bells. La Push isn't the same without you, kid..."_

Pressing her fingers to her lips, Bella's thoughts drifted to the lunch she had with Clint. A warm smile crept across her face and she murmured, "I did, Dad. I smiled today."

That warm smile stayed firmly planted on her face as she finished reading all of the letters the pack sent her. Her chocolate eyes overflowed with tears of joy as she gleefully dug into them. Her heart felt near to bursting with love and she stopped more than once to wipe away her happy tears.

The first thing she read was a letter from Sam, which was unexpectedly long and caught her by surprise. The way he summarized the pack's progress and what she missed was something she never expected. He wrote it up like a soldier sending a report to his commanding officer and it made her wonder why he suddenly felt the need to treat her like his alpha.

It was definitely odd and left her feeling more than a little bewildered, but she was also unbelievably grateful for it. He put one of her worries to rest, assuring her they all took turns accompanying Charlie anytime he left the Res and promised not to stop anytime soon. He also informed her that they hadn't caught Victoria's scent in the last few months, though they did occasionally run into a vampire she created.

Bella expected Sam to stop after that, but he didn't. He filled her in on anything and everything that had changed within the pack. She reminded herself to thank Sam if she ever saw him again. It was good to know that Paul had finally reined in his temper and that Leah had stopped phasing. Normally, learning the pack was down by one would bother her, especially with Victoria still on the loose, but then he also told her that Collin and Brady started phasing about a month ago. He shared his concerns with her over their young ages and her heart clenched when he finished with, _"The pack keeps your memory alive, Bella. Collin and Brady feel like they already know you and wish you'd come home. We all want you to come home."_

After that, she found a much shorter, but more personal letter from Sam, one that tugged on her heart strings and explained why his views on her had changed so drastically. Before now, Bella had always gotten the impression that she was a bit of a nuisance to Sam, one he reluctantly tolerated only because the other members of his pack clearly loved her. Everything changed, though, when Charlie told him about Victoria and the army she was building in Seattle.

When Sam realized Bella had sacrificed her future to keep an army of newborns away from Forks and La Push, he finally understood just how much Bella truly cared about them all. In his letter, he thanked Bella for her sacrifice and told her they'd made her an honorary member of the pack.

 _"You took on the role of pack protector, Bella, and put the welfare of the entire pack ahead of your own, which is something only the best alphas do. Giving your future to the pack means you're one of us. You're willing to give your life for us, Bella, and I'm sorry I didn't realize that until after you disappeared. We've all made sacrifices, but you... you've made the biggest. If you could phase, I'd be your beta,"_ he wrote. _"Do me a favor, Bella, and survive this. Survive this and come home so I get the chance to tell you that one day. I hope I actually get the chance to embrace you as the sister you've become to me. Maybe, if that day ever comes, I can also introduce you to your goddaughter. We named her after you and my mother. Her name is Allison Isabella Uley."_

Stunned, Bella's eyes fluttered closed and she clutched that letter to her chest, holding it over her heart. It didn't happen very often, but there were times over the last few months when Bella doubted herself, questioning the decisions she made eleven months ago. Her life had been so empty over the last year, so unbelievably hollow, and there were a few dark moments when she questioned whether or not she made the right decision. That one letter told her everything she needed to know. Baby Allison made it all worth it and Bella knew now, with every fiber of her being, that if she had to do it all over again, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

Still clutching that letter to her chest, Bella wiped her tears away and pulled out the next one, a message from Emily telling her all about her beautiful little goddaughter. A picture of the little angel was included with it and Bella pressed a kiss to it before sticking it in her wallet.

After that, she read what else the pack was up to. Sometimes she laughed and sometimes she cried, but Bella was unbelievably happy throughout it all. She felt grateful, fulfilled, and a sense of peace that she couldn't recall ever feeling before.

If Bella had returned to La Push, Victoria would've brought her army to Forks and they all would've suffered. The pack wouldn't have been ready to face a force of that size and Bella knew the damage to the pack and her town would've been devastating.

The wolves didn't fight one on one. They attacked as a pack and Jake once told her it took at least two wolves to end a vampire. Over fifteen people had gone missing in Seattle by the time Bella boarded a plane to Salt Lake City. That meant the vampires Victoria created would've outnumbered the pack two to one and with those odds? Victoria's forces would've left Forks and La Push completely ravaged. At least one of the wolves, if not all of them, would've died in that battle. Her decision to flee meant they all lived and discovering that they'd spent the last eleven months living life to the fullest bolstered her in a way she couldn't describe. It fortified her, nourishing her lonely soul and strengthening her in a way she never thought possible.

With a breathtakingly beautiful smile still on her face, Bella soaked in every detail the pack shared with her. Embry told her all about a road trip that he and Quil took up to a reservation in Alaska, where they discovered another shapeshifting tribe existed. Quil wrote her a letter about Claire, the darling little girl he imprinted on after they got back. Jared talked about his imprint, Kim, who just graduated with a nursing degree. Leah filled her in on her decision to stop phasing and the college classes she registered for in Seattle. Seth cracked her up by telling her about his plans to do the complete opposite of Leah, deciding to never stop phasing, and practically crowed about how he would live forever and didn't need to drink a drop of blood to do it.

She'd actually bonded with Paul the year before she left for college, so she wasn't surprised that his letter was the longest. He wrote her an extremely lengthy one about his imprint, Rachel Black (who just so happened to be Jake's older sister), and the auto shop he, Sam, and Jake opened last month. She collapsed in a fit of hysterical giggles when he proudly told her they decided to call it the "Fur and Feathers Auto Shop," which made absolutely no sense to anyone except her and Charlie.

That giggling fit transformed into riotous laughter when she finally got to Jake's letter and read how he felt about Paul imprinting on his sister, _"Bells, it's so awkward. I can hear Paul's thoughts and see his memories. And that dude has such a vivid imagination... Seriously, Bells, I can see everything they do and I'm telling you right now- brothers are_ _not_ _supposed to know that shit. I swear I would bleach my mind if I could."_

Bella was still laughing as she put her shoes back on, gathering the letters up, and walked out the backdoor. She grabbed a small trash can from the downstairs bathroom on her way outside and set it up in the backyard. As much as she wanted to keep each and every one of those letters, the only one she could actually keep was Charlie's. Everyone else had mentioned the wolves in some way and Bella couldn't risk those letters falling into the wrong hands. She was painfully aware Victoria would probably find her one day and Bella couldn't have those letters on her when that day came.

Still smiling warmly, Bella pocketed the letter from her dad and tore the rest of them up before tossing them into the trash can. Using a piece of Jake's, she pulled a zippo lighter out of her pocket and lit it on fire before tossing the burning scrap into the bin. While the letters burned, she thought about Jake, wondering how he was.

Bella had honestly tried with Jake. She really did, but dating him felt so wrong to her. Kissing him felt like kissing her brother and she only went on two dates with him before calling it quits. Jake was extremely upset at first, pressuring Bella for more, but Paul stepped in. Smacking the back of his head, he scolded, "It's like dating Leah, Jake. Would you seriously enjoy that?"

Since Jake considered Leah a sister, he grudgingly decided it was okay if they were just friends from there on out. And it was a good thing, too, because Angela came home from college the summer before Bella started classes at the University of Washington. Though Jake had gotten a glimpse of her on the beach the night he told Bella the tribal story about Cold Ones, he never had the chance to truly meet her. Bella brought Angela with her to a bonfire that summer and it only took Jake one look to realize he had finally imprinted.

They both struggled with the drawbacks of a long distance relationship that fall and Angela transferred over to the University of Washington at the start of Bella's second semester. Unfortunately (or fortunately, now that she really thought about it) Bella already had a roommate and Angela ended up in a dorm across campus.

At first, Bella thought Jake would lose interest in her entirely after he imprinted, but she couldn't have been more wrong. He no longer looked at her as a love interest, but their friendship remained strong. She and Jake had formed an unbreakable bond and Angela just made hanging out with him even more enjoyable.

Bella often spent her weekends with the two of them, alternating between Seattle and La Push, and her heart warmed as the memories of those rainy, adrenaline filled days ran through her mind. Paul often joined them, getting a constant kick out of Bella's thirst for excitement. Angela, surprisingly, was a bit of a rebel and wholeheartedly joined in on many of their stupid stunts. She was a reserved, gentle, and soft spoken girl, but she more than made up for it with her willingness to try anything at least once, especially if it was considered risky. Angela seemed particularly delighted by anything that would make her father frown.

Jake, Paul, and Bella found it all hilarious since Angela's dad was a reverend. They had well and truly corrupted her, turning her into a fellow adrenaline junky. To her father's dismay, the girl now even proudly owned her very own motorcycle, courtesy of Jake and Bella. After discovering the bikes Bella had talked Jake into fixing up with her, Angela demanded they fix one up for her too.

Thanks to Charlie, Bella knew Jake had been a mess when he learned her roommate had been drained and Bella had vanished. Angry with Charlie and Bella both, he was determined to find Bella and bring her home. Jake defiantly reported her missing, hoping the FBI could track her down. It pissed him off even more when Charlie stepped in and put a stop to the investigation. Charlie told her in an email that Jake refused to talk to him for weeks after that.

Bella felt guilty about causing her best friend so much grief, but she couldn't go back. If she did, Jake himself might end up dead and Bella wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let that happen. He was her lifeline after the Cullens left and, frankly, she couldn't imagine a world without him in it. Though she loved him like a brother, Bella still thought of him as her sun and the idea that Victoria could snuff out that radiant light was a thought that chilled her to the bone. She missed Jake terribly and, though she knew it wasn't likely, she hoped that she would get the chance to see him again someday.

After the letters were reduced to ashes, Bella cleaned out the bin and headed back up to her room. Realizing she couldn't put it off any longer, she finally came to a decision. Sighing, Bella started gathering up her things and packed them in her worn duffle bag. If she was brutally honest with herself, she'd already made her decision hours ago. She made it the second Clint asked her for her promise. After what she went through with the Cullens, Bella took promises very seriously and she never made a promise she didn't intend to keep.

Besides, she wanted the chance to say goodbye. Goodbyes were sacred to Bella, especially since she left behind everyone she ever cared about without one. The Cullens, her parents, the pack... she never said goodbye to any of them. Bella had that chance with Clint and she intended to take it. He was worth it, of that she had no doubt. Because of Clint, Bella had spent the day reveling in a whole new range of emotions, ones that she hadn't thought she would ever feel again. That made him worth the risk she was taking and he was definitely worth a goodbye.

She didn't know that fate made other plans.

Bella pulled out the shirt she planned to wear the next day and slipped it into her messenger bag before taking her duffle out to her car. Even though she intended to meet Clint for lunch, that didn't change the fact that she was leaving tomorrow, so she stuck the bag in her backseat. Ever cautious, Bella always stuck her bag in her car at night, though this time it was also packed with the things she often left in whatever room she was using. If, God forbid, something happened and she had to leave in a hurry, she refused to take the risk of leaving that bag behind. Everything she owned was inside it. Her sleeping bag and pillow could be easily replaced, but the things in that bag? Not so much.

That done, Bella locked her car and eyed the horizon, taking in the darkening sky. She inhaled deeply, preparing herself to face another night alone, and headed back up to the bedroom she had claimed as her own. Picking up the funds Charlie sent her, she quickly counted it, said a silent thank you to her father, and tucked it in her messenger bag. When she was done, she slipped her shoes off again and laid down, fully intending to sleep in her clothes. It definitely wasn't comfortable, but she felt she didn't really have a choice. She decided early on that she couldn't risk being caught unprepared, so comfy PJs were a thing of the past.

The afternoon was starting to fade into twilight, which was a time of day that Bella avoided like the plague. She remembered how much Edward loved it, when the failing light allowed vampires to move about unnoticed, and Bella often tried to sleep right through it. Honestly, she preferred sleeping through the first half of the night and often woke up in the early morning hours. Nighttime made her overly wary and her nerves were often shot by the time dawn rolled around if she didn't sleep through the first half of it. If it was time for her to pack up and move on, then she usually used the the few remaining hours of dark to shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and pack up the remainder of her things. As soon as the sun rose on those days, she left.

With nothing else to do, Bella slipped inside her sleeping bag. As twilight settled on the property, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, firmly believing she would see Clint at lunch the next day. She had every intention of meeting up with him, if only so she'd have a chance to say goodbye.

Bella foolishly thought that one more day couldn't hurt, never realizing just how much could change in the span of a day. In fact, one hour was all it took for her plans to go up in smoke and, worse yet, Bella wasn't even aware of it. The chaos Loki had unleashed on S.H.I.E.L.D. was spreading faster than the deadliest of viruses and Bella wasn't even awake to realize she was about to be infected.

She might've caught a glimpse of the peril heading her way if she'd gotten up to investigate when the ground rumbled and the house shook, but how could she have possibly known there was more to those tremors than that? Like everyone else in town, she just assumed it was a small quake and closed her eyes again. Completely oblivious to the car chase happening at that very moment, Bella let sleep pull her back under.

It was ironic, actually. After meeting Clint, Bella felt like she was finally waking up, like she was shaking off the last clinging tendrils of a deep and lasting slumber. It was almost fitting that Clint would be the one responsible for waking her a second time. Only this time around, Bella would finally open her eyes just to find herself trapped in a living nightmare.


	6. Nordic Gods and Shieldmaidens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella gets a rude awakening when her safe house is invaded. A rescue attempt goes awry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone!
> 
> So, this chapter was actually the first thing I pictured when I decided to write this crossover. In the Avengers movie, we never learn where Clint and Loki go after fleeing the base. Later on, Clint takes a quinjet to attack the helicarrier and retrieve Loki, but we never learn how he gets his hands on it. I had fun answering those questions.
> 
> Okay, here's what you need to know about this chapter: for some strange reason, I kept picturing Loki in all his glorious armor the first time Bella sees him and the image just wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided Loki donned the look when the chopper was chasing them. I know that's not what really happened, but let's all just silently agree to pretend that it was. Also, I've decided that Bella knows Jasper used to be a soldier, even though that conversation didn't happen until after Italy.
> 
> Let's just say she got bored one day and googled him, since she couldn't ask him about his human life in person. Either that or Alice mentioned it in passing. Who knows? Maybe she even told Bella she has a thing for soldiers. The point is that, somehow, Bella found that out. It's not really important, but I felt the need to put that out there.
> 
> There's a bit of a mystery in this one that will leave you guys thinking, "How?" I stuck a very subtle hint somewhere in this chapter (actually, there's technically two), but I highly doubt you'll figure it out from that. You'll find out later how Bella does what she does, in a future chapter. Right now, it's as much a mystery to her as it will be to you.
> 
> That's it! I hope you all enjoy the next few chapters, because I definitely did. They're some of my favorites...
> 
> Disclaimer: The Avengers and the Twilight Saga belong to Marvel and Stephanie Meyer, respectively. I'm just a bored writer with internet access and a firm believer that Clint and Bella both deserved more.

The first time Bella opened her sleepy eyes, waking up was gentle. Discovering the house was shaking was odd, but it wasn't something that alarmed her, so she drifted back to sleep. The second time it happened, something was different. She wasn't gently nudged awake, she was violently ripped from slumber's sweet embrace.

Bella was a light sleeper and had trained herself to wake up at the slightest of sounds. Certain noises sent adrenaline rushing through her veins and, whenever her ears registered those noises, she went from resting peacefully to awake and fully alert in a matter of seconds. So, when Bella felt the effects of that adrenaline working its way through her system, she tensed on instinct and her eyes snapped open in alarm.

Bella was confused at first. She didn't understand why she'd woken up or why she felt so uneasy, but then a sound caught her attention. Tilting her head, she listened carefully, her stomach tightening with dread once she realized what it was that woke her up. _Cars_. She heard two cars driving up the winding dirt road that led to the house. They were moving fast, too, undoubtedly approaching at breakneck speeds.

Panicking, Bella sprung to her feet and kicked her sleeping bag and pillow beneath the bed in the center of the room. She grabbed what few things she hadn't stashed in her car earlier and frantically shoved them into her messenger bag before yanking the strap over her head and shoulder. With a sense of urgency, she quickly shoved her shoes on and grabbed her gun, sticking the weapon in the back of her jeans before pulling her shirt down over it. She hit the light switch as she flew out the door, cloaking the house in darkness, and sprinted towards the stairs. Sadly, Bella only made it down one step before she froze, her head snapping up to look at the front door as someone jiggled the handle.

Too late, Bella realized she shouldn't have made a break for the backdoor. She should've just climbed out the window.

Heart pounding, Bella quickly backtracked, silently slipping back into the bedroom she was using as her own just moments ago. She carefully started to close the door, being extra gentle in a desperate attempt to shut it soundlessly. The front door swung open before she managed to close it all the way, leaving an inch of space left between the door and the frame, and Bella cursed her luck. If she tried opening the window now, when the door was still open, the sound would catch the attention of whoever just walked into the house.

Something inside of her eased when her ears registered the sound of loud footsteps and breathing. She didn't relax completely, painfully aware that her unexpected visitors could still be lethal, but she quickly realized that, whoever they were, they weren't vampires.

"You two, take position out front. And the two of you, set up a perimeter around the property line. If you see any cars or choppers heading our way, inform me immediately," a deep, husky voice ordered, one that made her heart leap and caused a familiar, involuntary shiver of desire to roll through her.

Recognizing that voice instantly, Bella's tense muscles relaxed and her anxiety vanished. Relief flooded her petite frame and she nearly flung the door wide open, revealing her presence. Clint spoke again before she could make that foolish mistake and Bella stopped herself just in time, his words making her freeze in her tracks and her blood run cold, "If you see anyone at all, _shoot first._ Ask questions later."

For a split second, Bella's mind completely blanked. She couldn't even begin to process the order Clint had just given. The words seemed to echo in her ears and her breath caught in her throat as the meaning of those words finally sank in. Clint just gave his men permission to execute anyone in the immediate vicinity, to shoot them on sight. Bella was the only one that qualified. He'd just unknowingly ordered her death.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and her stomach dropped. She suddenly felt like she was in a free fall, like the ground had unexpectedly disappeared beneath her feet. An uncontrollable shiver skittered down her spine, one that felt so much more unpleasant than the shiver Clint's voice had triggered. Something was horribly wrong, but Bella couldn't quite figure out what that something was.

Without a doubt, that was Clint's voice, but Bella was somehow convinced that Clint would never give an order like that one. She hadn't known him long, nor did she know him _well_ , but he hadn't struck her as a cold and calculating man when she met him earlier today. Any strangers around here were bound to be civilians and the Clint she met at lunch would never order the death of unarmed civilians.

From the moment she met him, Clint had wanted to protect her. He knew she was somewhere in the general area, so he also knew that Bella could easily end up being the stranger they executed instead of questioning. After how badly he wanted to protect her earlier, that order made absolutely no sense to her. None at all.

In the back of her mind, Bella understood that she was now trapped. If she ran into one of the guards outside, they would shoot her on sight. She was completely aware of just how utterly fucked she was, but she couldn't quite bring herself to care at that moment. It mattered to her on some level, yes, but not enough for her to waste any energy fretting over it. It just wasn't her main priority.

Figuring out what was wrong with Clint, on the other hand, was. She refused to believe Clint would ever willingly give an order like that, which meant something was undeniably wrong with him and Bella was determined to get to the bottom of it. Figuring out a way to help him was the only thing that mattered to Bella and the only thing she cared about. Everything else, including her own survival, was put on a back burner.

Deeply concerned by what she’d just heard, Bella shifted and peered through the crack in the door. She'd picked this room on purpose because it overlooked the entryway and the foyer on the first floor, so she was able see Clint clearly after she repositioned herself.

Clint was standing with his back to her, facing the doorway. The headlights from one of the cars out front filtered through the dark house, illuminating his muscular form. She recognized the bow and quiver strapped to his back instantly, though he was now also wearing a jacket, fingerless gloves, and a gun strapped to his thigh. He was looking at a strangely beautiful man decked out in pristine green and golden armor just outside the doorway. The man turned and said something to someone else behind him, someone Bella couldn't see, before he crossed the threshold, stepping into the house.

Bella studied the newcomer intently, wondering at first if this unearthly beautiful man could be a vampire. He was a few inches taller than Clint, had shoulder length black hair, an elegant looking face, and a unique skin tone, one that seemed to shine with a strange pearlescent glow. Oddly enough, his skin tone nearly matched the hue her of own, though hers lacked his skin's entrancing luster and shine.

She swallowed nervously as she took in the fact that he was armed. He quite literally looked like a knight in shining armor, as if he'd stepped right out of the Middle Ages. There was even a spear in his hand, one that looked incredibly lethal and had a wickedly sharp blade. Her eyes followed the curve of that blade downward, coming to rest on what looked like an ice blue orb of energy. Running her eyes over the odd weapon, she decided it was more of a scepter than a spear.

Her gaze snapped back up to his face and she quickly decided that, yes, he might've been inhumanly beautiful, but he was not a vampire. His eyes were neither red nor gold. They were blue, which meant he was definitely not one of the vampires she was so desperately trying to avoid and she highly doubted that he sated his thirst with human blood.

Even so, Bella did not get a good vibe from the man standing just inside the doorway. He seemed oddly predatory to her and moved in the same unnaturally graceful way that she always attributed to vampires. He might not have been a blood drinker, but she had no doubt that he was just as dangerous, if not more so. There was no question in her mind that he wasn't human. She honestly had no idea what he was, but she highly doubted he was vampire, human, or shifter.

 _What have you gotten yourself into, Clint?_ she wondered, nibbling anxiously on her bottom lip. _And how the hell am I going to get you out of it?_

"This is a rather subpar dwelling, Barton," Loki commented, his face reflecting his distaste. "Why have you brought us here?"

Bella's unease steadily grew with every word, registering the rich tone of the newcomer's voice, his unfamiliar accent, and the odd way in which he phrased things. In her experience, that combination never boded well. The overly proper way he spoke reminded her a little of Carlisle, who was hundreds of years old, and yet, somehow, Bella got the impression that he might be even older.

Carlisle was a peaceful, compassionate man, but Bella knew he was an exception to the rule. Most creatures his age only managed to survive that long through cunning and a talent for violence. It took skill to survive for centuries and a kind of lethal perseverance that made her instinctively wary. Something told her that this newcomer was not a person to be taken lightly.

At the same time that Bella considered this, she felt her chest tighten with an emotion that baffled her. A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed hard, furiously blinking back tears. She didn't know why, but whenever this stranger spoke... his voice made her feel _homesick_. Her thoughts drifted to Charlie and a pang ran through her, making her chest throb with the desire to go home.

She just wanted to go home.

Bella shook her head, violently slamming the door shut on thoughts of Charlie. Confused and thoroughly unsettled, Bella turned her attention away from the man in green and golden armor and focused on Clint.

From the very first second she'd laid eyes on him, Bella had formed the impression that Clint was a man with an extensive military background. She didn't doubt that he was highly trained and it wouldn't have surprised her if she learned he once served in a branch of special forces. At that moment, the soldier inside him shone through like never before, visible in the way he carried himself; his back ramrod straight, feet evenly spaced apart, and his hands tucked behind his back. She'd actually seen that very same pose before, it was a stance that Jasper often took out of nothing more than habit and Bella knew for a fact that Jasper was once a soldier.

"We need a place to lay low for an hour or so, sir. This property is a recent foreclosure, one that's still powered," Clint explained and flipped on the lights downstairs. "Fury will close down every highway leading out of the state and keep an eye on every airport, bus terminal, and train station within the country. That means we need a place to hide out until we find a means of transportation and he won't expect us to remain so close to base at a time like this."

Loki nodded slowly in understanding and Clint added in a respectful tone, "I'd like to send Thompson out to retrieve us a quinjet. We were still in the process of evacuating when the base collapsed, so Search and Rescue will be flying out survivors. If we commandeer one of those jets, then we can fly anywhere in the world without Fury's knowledge."

"How so?" Loki asked, curiosity in his voice.

"Our quinjets come equipped with stealth technology," Clint explained. "Once we activate it, the jet will become invisible to the human eye and radar. They'll be unable to track us."

Loki looked pleased by that information and waved his hand at Clint, "Do what you must, Barton." Clint nodded sharply and walked back out the front door, sending a spike of anxiety rushing through Bella when she could no longer see him. Loki looked around, his gaze lingering on the table in the dining room to the left, before calling out, "Dr. Selvig! Bring the Tesseract inside."

While he called out for Dr. Selvig, Loki's outfit changed, shifting back into the clothing he wore when he first stepped through the portal. He'd donned the armor when the helicopter started shooting at them, but there was no need to wear it now. Bella stilled at the sight and wonder swept through her. It was like watching the wolves phase for the first time all over again, when she first realized there was so much more to the mythical world than vampires. She blinked twice and found her gaze lingering on the man in green, her eyes once again drawn to the ice blue orb of energy on his scepter.

Bella shook her head slightly in disbelief, not quite believing she'd once again stepped into a situation that involved magic and the supernatural. It was hard for her to realize she was getting yet another peek into the supernatural world, yes, but not hard for her to accept it. Bella dismissed that part of it easily, readily accepting the fact that the mystical world included more than shapeshifters and vampires. Magic, _genuine_ magic, also existed and Bella just saw proof of it.

Unfortunately, that was not exactly reassuring news. The man in green was not a man she wanted to meet and learning that he had magical abilities didn't exactly soothe the nerves Bella was wrestling with. In fact, it alarmed her and made her even warier than before. Her last few experiences with the supernatural had forced her to leave her life behind and abandon everyone she knew, so it was only natural for Bella to be a little anxious.

Brows furrowed, Bella nervously watched as Dr. Selvig walked through the front door, carrying a large silver case with him. He gave Loki a questioning look and Loki pointed his scepter at the dining room table. They both stepped into the other room while Loki said, "You must tell me what you have gleaned so far in your studies, Selvig. The Tesseract has many glorious secrets, tell me what you will require to unlock them. When Barton returns, we will discuss strategy and find you a suitable environment for you to accomplish the tasks I have for you..."

Over the next thirty minutes, more than one unfamiliar face entered the once abandoned house, effectively turning Bella's safe house into their temporary headquarters. Bella figured out quickly that the man in green was in charge and that Clint was his second in command. Clint barked out a list of orders at one point and the rest of them flew into action. The house was no longer the calm and empty space Bella was used to, but rather a whirlwind of excitement and energy.

The more Bella listened, the more concerned she grew. Most of what they discussed and the plans they made went right over Bella's head, but that didn't matter, not to her. She had no idea what they were planning, but neither did she really care. Clint was the only one she gave a damn about and she found herself desperate to talk to him.

He just didn't sound like himself and that rubbed Bella the wrong way. How Clint acted bothered her more than anything else she'd seen tonight. The Clint downstairs wasn't the same man she met at lunch today and that realization physically hurt. Her chest inexplicably throbbed in pain and she impulsively decided enough was enough. She needed to gain his attention somehow and draw him to her so she could have a chat with him in private.

At a loss on how, exactly, to go about doing that, Bella glanced around. Her gaze landed on the light switch to the right and an idea slowly started to take shape in her mind. She peeked out the door again just as Clint stepped back into the foyer beneath her, his expression calculating. Realizing he was finally alone, Bella didn't waste another second and boldly flipped on the light. She then quickly tucked herself into the corner between the door and the wall, hiding herself from view while she listened for the sound of Clint's footsteps.

Her heartbeat hammered away in her chest and she closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer. Bella knew there was a very strong possibility that everything was about to go to hell in a hand basket, but she still fervently prayed the gamble she just took would pay off somehow. Out of all the places Clint could've taken the men downstairs, he'd brought them here, to her. She couldn't help thinking that there had to be a reason why fate had led him here. Foolishly, perhaps, she had an overwhelming instinct that fate wanted her to intervene, that fate _wanted_ her to step in.

Over the last eleven months, Bella had thought about the idea of fate often. She was the only human in the world to live after being let in on the vampire secret and she thought about how differently her life could've gone if she'd never discovered the Cullens were vampires. Bella liked to think there was a reason behind it all, a grand plan she couldn't quite see. She didn't know what part she played in that grand design, but Bella had faith that it existed. It was fate that brought the Cullens into her life. It was fate that led her to the wolves. It was fate that kept her in the library that night in Seattle, when Victoria was breaking into her dorm room.

Fate had brought Clint here and faith kept Bella standing there.

On her eighteenth birthday, the disastrous night that sent her life spinning in an entirely new direction, Carlisle had told her his story while he bandaged her wounds. During that story, he told her that he wasn't sure if he believed in the things his father did, but he did believe there was some type of guiding force out there, looking out for them all. That conversation, the last one she ever had with him, was something she often replayed over the last year.

She, too, believed in that guiding force. Bella believed in _fate_. She believed that there was a reason things had turned out the way they had and she thought about fate in that moment. Her path had been a lonely one and she believed there was a reason Clint had crossed that path twice in one day. There had to be a reason he came here, a reason he unknowingly sought her out...

There had to be a reason why Clint's path had _brought him back to her._

In all honesty, Bella could've left at any time. She could've climbed out the window, gotten in her car, and driven away, but that thought never once occurred to her. She refused to even entertain the idea of leaving without Clint. Like letting the wolves face an army of newborn vampires, it just wasn't an option to her. The idea of leaving Clint in such a perilous situation didn't sit right with her and it was with a sad awareness that Bella realized their fates were bound. If Clint never left this abandoned property, then neither would she.

It didn't take long for Clint to notice a light had been turned on upstairs and, like any well trained soldier, he decided to check it out. Pure adrenaline coursed through her veins as she listened to the sound of his feet slowly climbing the staircase. Bella's body tensed with anxiety and she locked her muscles down, biting down hard on her bottom lip as Clint cautiously stepped onto the second landing. She stopped breathing entirely when she heard his footsteps come to a stop just outside her door, not daring to exhale.

Gun raised, Clint slowly pushed the door open and Bella silently backed up even more, pressing her back into the wall behind her. Clint took a step inside, his raised gun inching just past the edge of the door, and Bella stared at it with wide, startled eyes. For a second, she found herself frozen in place, unable to move even if she had the nerve to. She hadn't exactly thought her impulsive plan through and she was afraid one false move would get her shot.

Clint warily scanned the room before slowly relaxing. He lowered his weapon and Bella nearly let out a relieved sigh. Seeing no signs of life and believing the room to be empty, Clint holstered his sidearm and took a step back, turning to leave. To Bella's relief, Clint paused and looked at the room again with furrowed brows. Deciding he needed to take a closer look, he stepped further into the room and Bella soundlessly started to shut the door behind him.

Hesitantly, she reached out with a trembling hand, simultaneously pressing the door gently shut with her foot. The door made a small clicking sound and Clint stilled in front of her, his body subtly tensing when he realized someone was behind him.

"Clint," she whispered as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder, a move she greatly regretted less than a second later.

Moving so quickly that she would've missed it had she blinked, Clint whipped around and roughly slammed her against the door, his hands on her throat. Immediately, she attempted to push him away, frantically scrambling for air, but she quickly realized doing so was a futile endeavor.

Clint was well trained, talented in hand-to-hand combat, incredibly strong, and possessed reflexes so quick that the speed he moved at shocked her. She expected all of those things from Victoria, but she hadn't expected them from a human, and she realized instantly that Clint had unparalleled skill. She didn't know how to best someone with his training, so she didn't even try. 

Even if her perceptive mind could've come up with something in that moment, Bella wouldn't have carried it out. At her core, she didn't want to hurt him. Clint made her protective instincts flare and everything within her violently rebelled against the thought of intentionally causing him harm.

Panicking, Bella's frightened brown eyes locked onto his deadened blue ones and that was when her world tilted, shifting on its axis. She hadn't been able to see his eyes very clearly until that moment and she could see now that something was tragically wrong with them. His eyes were still blue, yes, but they weren't the same beautiful shade that damn near hypnotized her earlier today. Gone was the steely blue color, a strange icy hue in its place. Both eyes had an eerie blue sheen to them. Even the whites of his eyes were tinged with blue. What bothered her most, though, was how utterly empty and lifeless they looked.

During lunch, Clint struck her as a man full of energy, his eyes vibrant and dancing with a beautiful spark of life. Now that spark was decidedly lacking and his once warm eyes were so cold and unfeeling that it made her shiver. Her stomach abruptly twisted, knotting up in a sickening way, and her heart constricted painfully, leaving her wholly unsettled. She had enough experience with vampire abilities to recognize it when someone was being influenced and it was obvious, at least to her, that Clint was no longer in the driver's seat. She understood now why Clint didn't sound like the same man she met earlier today. Someone had taken control of his mind and commandeered his body.

A lone tear escaped her as the edges of her vision started fading into black. Bella knew she was dying, that she didn't stand a chance against someone like Clint, but it wasn't her own death that pained her. She'd been living on borrowed time for so long that she just couldn't seem to summon the energy to feel upset about it. Instead, all she felt about her death was acceptance. The tears gathering in her eyes had nothing to do with realizing death had finally caught up with her. She wasn't crying for herself... she was crying for Clint, painfully aware of what it felt like to feel betrayed by one's own body.

Even now, years later, Bella could still vividly remember how frustrated she felt anytime Jasper altered her mood or put her to sleep without her permission. Likewise, she also recalled how nauseated it made her whenever Edward dazzled her into doing things she would've never agreed to if he hadn't used his vampire allure against her. Knowing they could influence her that way, and that it would be an _easy_ thing for them to do, put her on edge. It didn't matter how much she loved Jasper and Edward in that moment, they had the power to usurp her free will, and that knowledge always left her feeling helpless and painfully vulnerable. Sensing this, Jasper rarely touched her emotions from that point on in an effort to help her feel like she wasn't powerless. She wished she could've said the same for Edward.

Bella knew what it was like to have her mind think one thing and her body do something else entirely. She knew what it felt like to have someone else take control of her body, to make her emotionally react in a way she normally wouldn't. She also knew what it was like to have another's will and desires forced upon her.

Bella hadn't realized how controlling Edward was until long after he'd left her. She was blind to his faults at first, but the past three years, especially the last eleven months, had given her a lot of time to reflect on their relationship. Slowly, she began seeing the unhealthy relationship for what it was, a need for control on his side and codependence on hers. Edward exercised his control over her by making decisions for her without her input and dazzling her whenever she showed the slightest bit of resistance. Every time Edward dazzled her into agreeing with him, he was forcing her to comply with his will.

Sadly, Bella knew her experiences with manipulative abilities were only a pale shadow of what Clint was currently going through. Jasper and Edward had gently influenced her, but whoever took control of Clint was anything but gentle. The man controlling him had forcibly ripped away Clint's free will and viciously taken full control of his mind.

Bella couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Clint would feel when he finally regained control. If Bella was so bothered by being dazzled into compliance by Edward and having her mood altered by Jasper, how would Clint feel when he realized he didn't just have his emotions controlled, but his entire body and mind?

_If he ever regained control at all._

With that last terrifying thought, something inside Bella's mind snapped. An uncontrollable urge to protect Clint welled up within her and she reached out, gently cupping his face with her hands. She wanted to protect him so badly, to shield him from the influence of the puppet master currently pulling his strings, and something within her mind responded to that desperate urge. A shimmering force suddenly shot forward, spreading from Bella to Clint, and molded itself to his body. Inexplicably, she could suddenly _feel_ him, sense his mind like seeing a spark ignite in the darkest of alleys. She watched in wonder as the unnatural blue faded from his eyes and his features became more cognizant, more aware.

Clint blinked rapidly for a second before his eyes widened. Startled, he murmured, "Bella?"

Relief flooded through her and the shimmering force snapped back to her mind like someone releasing a taught rubber band. Her entire body jolted in surprise and the stilted movement caused a flood of tears to escape her brimming eyes. Clint's expression abruptly shifted from confusion to pure horror and he released his hold on her throat so quickly that she stumbled forward at the speed. He caught her about the waist, steadying her, while she sucked in a huge, painful breath, greedily gulping down air.

Trembling with relief, Bella slipped her arms around his neck and tucked her face into the crook of it. Clint pulled her even closer to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her. With an expression of absolute guilt and remorse, he brought his lips to her ear and thickly whispered, "I'm so sorry, Bella. I don't... That wasn't... I wasn't in control."

Bella nodded in agreement and tightened her hold on him. She knew that wasn't him. When she sensed the spark that was his mind, it had radiated warmth, strength, and security. It was the mind of a man who wanted to protect her, not kill her. It was the mind of someone she was truly safe with. Bella was just grateful he was back.

Clint scanned the room around them while Bella tried to control her breathing, thinking furiously as he tried to come up with a plan. He remembered everything, but it was like he had been operating on autopilot. He'd been oddly disassociated from everything he did. Every action he took, every word that he spoke, and every decision he made stemmed from a connection with Loki. Every thought he had was centered on meeting Loki's needs and helping him achieve his goals. The second Loki touched Clint's chest with the blade of that scepter, he’d stopped connecting emotionally to his own thoughts. Loki had taken Clint, a high level operative of S.H.I.E.L.D., and turned him into a glorified butler. Under his control, Clint's entire life became centered on serving Loki and he felt nauseated just thinking about it.

Now that his mind was solely his own again, Clint felt disturbingly vulnerable and violated. Surprisingly, he found that his lack of control wasn't even the worst part about it. The worst part was hands down the way he felt while under Loki's sway... or maybe he should say _didn't_ feel. Loki had hollowed him out, taken out everything that made him who he was, and stuffed something else inside him, something cold, calculating, and ruthless.

All human emotion, everything that made him humane, had been stripped away from him and replaced with the chilling sensation of ice flowing through his veins. The only thing Clint could even remotely consider an emotion was the weird, twisted sense of loyalty he'd felt to the being who suppressed his humanity.

Everything that made Clint the man he was, a man Clint was proud of, was brutally torn away from him and replaced with the need to help Loki succeed _whatever the cost_. Under Loki's thrall, everything Clint valued and cared for became meaningless to him. Even Bella, the girl who could make his heart hammer in his chest by aiming just one shy blush in his direction, meant absolutely nothing to him. Loki had destroyed the man Clint had so proudly become and turned him into the type of man Clint openly despised, one who didn't care who he hurt as long his objective was met.

Clint never wanted to become a man like that, a man with a casual disregard for human life. He joined S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of becoming a mercenary because he _valued_ human life. He didn't want to be a gun for hire; he wanted to be on the side that fought for the victims instead of the side responsible for creating them. Clint had always wanted to protect others, not destroy them. To his dismay, Clint had almost turned Bella into one of those victims.

Since the moment he'd met her, Bella had constantly been in Clint's thoughts. Speaking with Bella had a profound affect on Clint and, by the time Clint had to say goodbye and head back to base, he already cared deeply for her. There was just something about her that called to him. He wanted her, yes, but he also wanted to be there for her. He wanted Bella to come to him with her problems and he wanted to be the one she counted on when she felt backed into a corner. Clint wanted to be a part of Bella's life, which honestly surprised the hell out of him. The desire to get close to a girl was an urge he could honestly say he hadn't felt in years. With the way he felt for her, he never imagined he'd ever end up in a position like this. He never thought he'd be the one to hurt her.

After spending just one afternoon with the dark-haired beauty, Clint had found himself doing anything and everything he could to find a way to protect her. Under Loki's influence, though, every positive emotion he felt towards Bella had been stolen away from him. Instead of seeing Bella as someone to cherish and protect, he saw her as a threat. She was a possible witness that could lead S.H.I.E.L.D. straight to them. He'd seen her as a problem he needed to take care of. Where warmth once resided in his chest, all Clint felt was ice and he’d reacted like a man with a heart made of it. His altered thoughts had turned calculating and he’d spent less than a second deciding whether or not he would let her live. Coming to the ruthless conclusion that Bella was of no use to Loki, he attacked.

Clint cringed at the memory of wrapping his hands around the throat of the beautiful girl in his arms. The very thought of ending her sickened him, but it was like his humanity had been flipped off in that moment. All the warmth her presence normally evoked had been missing and in its place had been a coldness that chilled him to the bone.

He knew he was incredibly lucky Bella had acted before it was too late. If she had reached out just one minute later... Clint shuddered at the thought. It made him undeniably queasy to realize he almost killed her and he was so incredibly grateful Bella had used whatever ability she had to somehow give him back control. And Clint knew, without a doubt, that Bella was the one responsible for restoring that control. He’d felt it when she touched him, felt warmth once again flowing into his body and taking up residence in his heart. With the return of that warmth came his protective instincts and all the emotions Loki had stolen away from him.

Something about Bella drew him to her, like a moth to the flame, and kicked his protective side into overdrive. Loki was literally downstairs, hatching a plan to bring an army to Earth, and had the Tesseract with him, but neither were Clint's priority at that moment. Bella was. He needed to get her out of here immediately and meet up with Fury.

Clint gently ran a comforting hand through Bella's silky hair while he thought. The very last thing he wanted to do was put her in more danger, but she was currently his only defense against Loki's mind control. It looked like Bella Swan was about to be recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.

"We're not safe here," he whispered and felt her nodding against his neck in agreement. "Stay behind me and stick close. Keep as quiet as you can and I'll get us out. Can you do that?"

When she nodded again, he pulled back and looked into her eyes. It astonished him to see the amount of trust shining in those deep pools of chocolate. He literally just tried to kill her and yet, somehow, Bella still _trusted_ him. He found himself awed by her in that moment. She was truly amazing.

Taking advantage of having her so close, Clint ran his knuckles tenderly down her cheek and the ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. He nodded to himself and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before turning towards the door. Quickly realizing what he wanted to do, Bella took a step back, giving him room, and wisely shut off the light. Cracking the door open a sliver, he quickly did a head count of the minions Loki had created. He then silently shut it again and made his way to the window. Bella quietly followed him.

With a quick, calculating glance, Clint ensured the coast was relatively clear before gently sliding the window open. He threw a glance Bella's way and motioned her closer. She bit her lip nervously as she moved forward, stepping into the moonlight that filtered through the window, and Clint stifled a groan.

Lip biting was not something that was going to help him focus.

With a quick mental shake, Clint ducked his head and climbed out onto the roof. Fortunately, the house was built with an overhang, one that overshadowed the first floor. Bella quickly ducked down and followed him out the window. He helped her gain her footing before pressing her up against the wall with his arm while he peeked around the corner and took in the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents turned guards out front. He could hotwire one of the cars if they could get to it, but he wasn't sure if the guards would recognize him as a threat now. Having experienced mind control himself, he was reluctant to kill them and hesitated a second in indecision.

Before Clint could make up his mind, Bella gently tugged on his sleeve. He turned his attention back to her and she silently held up a set of car keys before pointing to an SUV parked in back, cleverly hidden behind a storage shed. She then pointed to a drainage pipe that ran down the side of the house before raising her eyebrows at him in question. Realizing that she already had an exit strategy in place, he gave her an admiring look and Bella blushed.

It dawned on Clint in that moment that this was why Bella had lured him upstairs; she knew they could slip out the window and book it to her car. Bella was just waiting for him to make her move. She could've easily left without him, but she drew him upstairs instead. The sheer amount of pleasure that swept through him with that knowledge was ridiculous. He couldn't keep the smile from forming on his face if he tried.

Grinning, Clint took the keys from her as he backtracked. The front of his body brushed against hers as he passed her on the way to the drainage pipe and he literally felt the air between them heat. Taken off guard, he paused in front of her, stunned by the sheer amount of chemistry they shared. She tilted her head up to meet his gaze and, acting on impulse, he ducked down and stole a kiss.

More adrenaline pumped through his body than he'd ever felt before when he pressed his lips to hers. It felt like pure electricity was running through his veins in that moment, like a live wire ran just beneath his skin. Bella came alive in his arms and trailed her fingers up his chest, locking her hands together at the nape of his neck. Her touch alone made his body pulse with small, electric shocks and he pressed himself into her on instinct, his hands settling on her deliciously curved hips.

When her lips parted, he swore he'd died and gone to heaven. The taste of her exploded on his tongue and he deepened the kiss, more than eager to experience everything her tempting mouth had to offer. A small groan escaped him and he had to force himself to pull back. Flushed and breathless, she looked even more inviting as he rested his forehead against hers. She bit that damn lip again and he silently wondered if she knew what a turn on that habit of hers was. He trailed his hands up her body and sank his fingers in her hair before warning her in a rough whisper, "This conversation isn't over."

Somehow, her flushed skin seemed to turn even redder and he chuckled softly before pulling away, refocusing himself on the task at hand. He was beginning to see hope for a real future with Bella, so he had every intention of keeping them both alive to see that hope one day become a reality.

He quickly shimmied down the drainage pipe and looked up at Bella, who was eyeing the pipe with a nervous, yet slightly excited expression that intrigued him. Climbing down the pipe was such a small stunt in the grand scheme of things, but it was also something the average person would never do and Clint noted in the back of his mind how Bella was more excited to try it than scared. It was something he'd think about later.

Clint glanced around the corner, making sure they were still undetected, before catching Bella's attention. He gave her the go ahead with a quick hand signal and watched as she gathered her resolve, her shoulders squaring with determination. Moving at a much more careful pace than he did, she began climbing her way down.

Two feet down, her hands slipped and she nearly lost her footing completely, making his nerves soar. He didn't even think before he reacted and positioned himself beneath her, ready catch her if she fell. She paused a second and astonishment once again filled him as she quickly undid her belt and looped it around the pipe. Bella gripped the belt tightly and used the leverage it gave her to secure a firm hold before resuming her climb.

Clint had to admire her quick thinking and ingenuity. She was obviously a problem solver and he knew that would help her enormously in the coming days. Oddly, it was almost like she was born to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He knew from experience she was constantly aware of her surroundings and she proved earlier that she always had an exit strategy. He also knew from the background check he ran on her that she knew how to keep herself off the grid. She graduated at the top of her class, so she definitely had the wits needed to succeed and she showed him earlier today how sharp her eyes were, how perceptive she was. For someone he attacked just minutes ago, she was also remarkably calm and extremely resilient. Her latest feat with the belt just assured him she could handle this. She could handle life as an agent.

He just needed to train her how to fight.

It bothered Clint that she hadn't put up much of a struggle when he had his hands wrapped around her throat. For someone looking death in the eyes, Bella hadn't fought very hard to save herself. Granted, it would've been difficult for even some of the best trained agents to take him down, but Bella didn't know that.

Throwing her energy into whatever ability she had instead of fighting to free herself, though, turned out to be a wise move. Even if she had thrown all of her energy into freeing herself, it wouldn't have been enough. He silently wondered if she hadn't fought harder because she knew that, knew she was outmatched. After all, there had been a second where her eyes lit up with realization, a sad awareness, right before she gently reached out and tenderly laid her hands on his cheeks.

Clint found himself desperate to know what she'd been thinking about in that moment. What was it that made Bella go from struggling to caressing the face of the man trying to kill her? Warmth had flooded into him through her fingertips, melting the frost Loki had encased his heart in. As her warmth chased away the bitter cold, Clint had slowly regained control and steadily grew more alert.

Even after his mind had been fully restored to him, Clint swore he could still feel the warmth of Bella wrapped around him. It felt like his body was covered from head to toe in a protective force of pure love and warmth. Love and security literally clung to him like a second skin, like the emotions were a tangible layer coating his body.

Never before had he felt so loved and protected, so cherished and safe, as he did in that moment. He’d breathed out her name and that layer was suddenly snatched away from him, pulled in Bella's direction. Bella had flinched, making him painfully aware that whatever invisible energy was so forcefully yanked away from him snapped back into Bella just as forcefully. The baffled look on her face told him that she was just as thrown by the turn of events as he was. It was obvious to Clint that Bella hadn't even realized she had an ability until she used it to save him.

In all his years as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Clint had never once experienced or witnessed something like that before. He'd come across people who had developed abilities from experiments gone wrong, others who had been the victims of a few crazy scientists, geniuses who created technology to give themselves an edge, and even encountered beings with magic like Thor, who literally hailed from another planet, but he'd never come across someone like Bella, someone with an ability that hadn't been caused by an outside source in some way.

The only beings he'd met who held some type of ability like hers, something magically fueled, came from Asgard. There was nothing in Bella's history that suggested she had been involved in an experiment gone awry, so Clint began wondering if something happened to her when she went off-grid. For some reason, that theory didn't feel right to him. He could feel Bella when she used her ability, sense the tender warmth of her spirit. Whatever that force was, it was literally a part of her.

Ironically, it felt like Bella's ability was a physical manifestation of S.H.I.E.L.D. Bella had literally shielded him from Loki's influence.

 _Nordic gods and shieldmaidens,_ he mentally scoffed. _What the hell is going on around here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of this story, mutants do not exist. Bella is not a mutant. She is also not from Asgard. The girl was born on Earth like the rest of us...


	7. The Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella and Clint flee the safe house. Clint reveals his agent status and tells Bella all about the messy situation he’s unintentionally dragged her into. 
> 
> Bella is not happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of my readers on the other sites I post to like trying to puzzle out how Bella is able to use her shield. For those of you who hope to figure it out, I left a clue at the end of the last chapter. If you didn’t catch it, I’ll repeat it here:
> 
> Bella is not a mutant and she is not from Asgard.
> 
> That's right. Bella is not a mutant. I considered the mutant gene idea, but ultimately decided not to bring the mutant storyline into this fanfic. None of the Avengers have mutant genes and I decided to stick with that theme. Mutants do not exist in this crossover. And, finally, the poor girl was born on Earth like the rest of us, so she is not a Nordic goddess. What a shame! Lol.
> 
> That's all I'm going to say about it.
> 
> *zipping lips*
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers or the Twilight Saga. They belong to Marvel and Stephanie Meyer, respectively. I'm just a crossover addict with a little too much time on her hands...

When Bella had only about three feet left of her climb to go, Clint gently grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the wall. Bella let go of the belt with her left hand, pulling it free with her right, and Clint set her down on the grass. She turned around to face him and he gave her a quick nod before stepping back to glance around the corner once more.

Satisfied they hadn't yet noticed his absence, he gently took Bella's free hand, lacing his fingers with hers, and started stealthily heading towards the storage shed built near the back end of the house. Despite the urgency they both felt to get to the car, they moved carefully, trying their hardest not to make any loud noises, and hugged the wall as they walked.

It was only a matter of time before Loki would notice Clint's absence and figure out he'd somehow broken free of his control. Neither one of them wanted to be around when that happened, well aware that Loki was going to flip his lid. They both were tempted to make a break for the car, but attracting the attention of the agents posted outside would be a fatal mistake, so they took their time and quietly made their way towards the back end of the house.

Clint paused when they got to a window on the first floor and held up his free hand, silently telling Bella to stop. He quickly peeked into the window, doing another quick head count, before turning back to Bella.

Tugging her closer to him, Clint let go of her hand and settled his own on her waist. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear, "Can you do it again? Whatever you did upstairs to free my mind, can you do that to the others here?"

If she could, Clint might be able to use the distraction caused by their confusion to retrieve the Tesseract. He could put a stop to Loki's campaign before it had a true chance to begin.

When he pulled back to look at her, Bella's eyes were closed and there was a look of intense concentration on her face. After witnessing the way Loki's clothing had changed, she had easily done the math and made the connection between his magic and Clint's altered state. It wasn't hard to figure out that the predatory man in green was the one who robbed Clint of control, but Bella hadn't realized that everyone else inside was also under Loki's thrall, that Clint wasn't the only one, and a flicker of guilt ran through her for not piecing it together sooner.

Bella wanted to both help the men inside and help Clint with whatever he needed, so she tried. She was still in a minor state of shock over what she'd done upstairs and she honestly wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it for herself, but Bella wasn't afraid of it. Instead of fighting against this sudden change, she embraced it. Discovering she had some kind of unknown ability would freak the normal person out, but all Bella felt was gratitude. She was still alive because of that ability and Clint was free, so she had no intentions of rejecting it.

Hoping she could use that ability again to free the others under Loki's control, she focused on how much she wanted to shield Clint earlier and tried to repeat the process. To her sheer frustration, nothing happened. The men inside desperately needed her help, though they didn't know it, yet Bella was at a loss on how to go about doing that very thing.

Bella was strangely confident that it wasn't a fluke, that she _could_ use that protective energy again, but she couldn't seem to harness it and use it _at will._ If she couldn't control it, then she couldn't help them, no matter how fiercely she wanted to, and that knowledge tore at her. The guilt inside of her grew, her inability to protect the people inside fanning the spark of guilt she felt earlier into a full fledged flame. She knew that elusive energy was still there, but Bella couldn't seem to grab hold of it. She couldn't manipulate it.

Opening her eyes, she gave Clint a look of genuine remorse and mouthed, "I don't know how."

Unsurprised, Clint nodded. Asking her to use her ability had honestly been a long shot anyway. From her reaction upstairs, he could tell Bella had never used that ability before tonight, so he knew she likely hadn't figured out how it worked yet.

The guilt in her eyes sent a pang running through him and he leaned in again, about to tell her that it was okay and not to blame herself, when a roar of fury came from inside the house. Clint reacted on instinct, slinging an arm around Bella's waist, and flattened them both against the wall. Listening intently, the two heard it clearly when Loki shouted, " _Find Barton. Now!_ "

A violent crashing sound shook the wall they were pressed against and Bella looked up, her alarmed brown eyes locking with his own. Clint paused, his focus shifting from the sounds coming from inside the house to the girl standing a breath away from him, pinned between him and the wall. He felt irrationally exposed in that moment, like those beautiful chocolate orbs were somehow going to draw out every secret he ever kept, which would be quite the feat given all the secrets he kept for S.H.I.E.L.D. There was something magnetic about those eyes of hers and Clint didn't dare look away and break the hold she had on him.

Part of him wondered if this was the moment, the moment Bella realized danger like this followed Clint everywhere. He wondered if this was the moment that the magnitude of that danger truly sank in and Bella decided Clint wasn't worth the risk to her life. Clint didn't realize the alarm in Bella's eyes had nothing to do with the element of danger surrounding them and everything to do with the unhinged fury in Loki's voice and how that toxic emotional cocktail was aimed at Clint. Bella didn't handle threats to her loved ones well and Loki reminded her of a certain psychotic redhead.

Bella swallowed hard as the sounds of struggling inside grew even louder and tensed, her nerves getting the better of her. If someone looked out the window... Clint pressed himself flush against her and laid a hand on her cheek, silently reminding her that she was safe, she was with him. He made her a silent vow in that moment, promising her that if she stayed with him, she'd find being wrapped in his arms the safest place she'd ever be.

With Clint so close to her, Bella swallowed back her nerves, focusing on the heat of Clint's body instead of the violent man intent on controlling him. Clint had done more than remind her she was safe, he reminded her that he could take care of himself. He obviously dealt with danger on a daily basis. Now that he was no longer being controlled, she didn't need to protect him. Clint was more than capable of protecting himself. Bella nodded slowly, silently telling him she was okay, just in time to hear Loki shout, " _Bring him to me!_ "

Clint reluctantly looked away, breaking the connection between them, and muttered, "That's our cue to leave."

He stepped back and unholstered his gun with one hand while snatching up Bella's hand with the other. They ducked as they passed beneath the window and took off at a sprint towards Bella's SUV. Aware that every second mattered, he let go of Bella's hand and jumped, sliding across the hood of the car. Landing on his feet on the other side, he winked at a silently gaping Bella and hurriedly unlocked the doors.

Bella quickly opened the door and was about to climb in when a large hand clamped down on her shoulder. She didn't think, she just reacted, spinning around while whipping the belt through the air. The buckle of the belt collided hard with the man's head and a sickening crack echoed around the yard as he collapsed. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she cautiously backed up. Half expecting the man to pop up and come at her again, she kept her eyes warily trained on him as she climbed into the seat before quietly shutting the door.

How Bella managed to hit that guy in the one spot that could knock him out was a mystery to her, one that left her baffled, but she decided not to question it and chalked it up to her talent for accidentally injuring others. When she finally tore her gaze away from the unconscious man outside her door and looked at Clint, she was met with a dumbfounded expression. A gun shot went off, likely fired by the partner of the operative Bella knocked out, and the noise violently snapped Clint out of his shock. He quickly turned the car on and floored it, making the tires squeal as he peeled away from the shed.

The agents stationed in front of the house reacted swiftly, pulling out their guns and showering the SUV in a hail of rapid gunfire. The windows on Bella's side of the car shattered and they both ducked on instinct. The broken glass ripped across Bella's skin and she pulled her stinging arm inward, cradling it against her chest. She started to sit up again and Clint placed a hand on the back of her head, pushing her further down.

"Stay down!" he shouted and made a sharp turn, cutting through the front lawn in an attempt to escape the gunfire.

Uncomfortable, Bella quickly slid out of her seat and turned so she was facing it, curling her body up in the space in front of it. Clint glanced at her, taken aback by her quick thinking, and murmured, "That works too."

With twitching lips, Bella glanced down at her burning arm. Her almost smile quickly turned into a nauseated grimace as she took in the cuts from the window glass. She brushed away what she could and focused on the jagged piece of glass sticking out of her bicep. Bracing herself, she exhaled slowly and yanked it out before chucking it into the backseat. Determined not to pass out in the middle of their great escape, Bella kept her eyes away from the cut and started breathing through her mouth to keep herself from inhaling the scent of blood. Clint watched her from the corner of his eye and had to admit he was impressed. It was like the pain didn't even faze her.

Headlights in the rearview mirror quickly caught Clint's attention and he swore, "Shit!" Bella gave him a questioning look and he explained, "We've got a tail. Stay down, they're gonna pull up on your side."

Bella tipped her head up to peek out the broken window. Sure enough, they were being tailed by a modified hummer, the same one Clint used to escape the base. She gritted her teeth in frustration, well aware her crappy SUV would fall apart if the hummer rammed them off the road. She looked at Clint, her eyes drawn to the gun he had out earlier, and held out her hand, "Give me your gun."

Clint stilled and turned to look at her, taking in her serious demeanor. She raised her eyebrows at him and shook her hand impatiently, urging him into action. He unholstered the weapon and handed it to her while asking, "Do you know how to use it?"

Bella quickly checked the safety and chambered a round before looking at the hummer, "I guess you're about to find out. I need a view of those tires, Clint."

Clint grinned, a shot of pure adrenaline and excitement coursing through his veins. Bella had even more secrets than he thought. After the story she told him during lunch, learning Bella knew how to fire a gun was the last thing he expected. Honestly, the very idea of Bella firing a weapon turned him on. She was equipping him with enough fantasies to last him a week.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, Clint said, "Get ready. They're gaining on us, so you'll get your chance."

Bella nodded and got on her knees, preparing herself to shoot. She looked at the hummer thoughtfully and commented, "You're gonna want to slow down. Once I take out that tire, that hummer will sideswipe us. You'll need to speed up to avoid it and you can't do that if you're already flooring it."

Clint nodded, still grinning like a fool, and subtly slowed down. He shifted into a slower speed so gradually that the driver behind them didn't even notice. The hummer pulled even with them and Bella took aim, quickly firing two bullets. Clint gunned it as the hummer started swerving towards them and Bella fired again, taking out the second front tire.

The agent in the passenger side fired back and Bella quickly ducked back down. Clint made another sharp turn to evade the flying bullets and they finally started gaining some ground. Satisfied the hummer wouldn't be returning, Bella brushed the glass off the seat and climbed back into it. She looked down at the gun thoughtfully before handing it back to Clint.

Clint made no attempt to hide the stare he was shooting her way as he holstered the gun. Honestly, he was prepared to flip the car around and shoot out the tires with his left hand while driving in reverse. He'd done it a few times before, but it was difficult and it was so much easier just to let Bella take care of it. Besides, she had him curious. He wanted to know if she really could shoot or if she was acting on impulse. Now he knew.

Clint was a little baffled, to be honest. Bella didn't just know how to shoot, she also had a good eye. She only took three shots and all three bullets hit their targets. On top of that, she also thought ahead, anticipating the reaction of the driver and what direction the hummer would spin if she took out the front left tire. He had no idea she had it in her, but he had to admit he was damned impressed.

Bella could feel Clint's gaze on her. She avoided looking at him for a moment, ignoring the eyes boring a hole in the side of her head in favor of slipping her belt back on. She knew how handy that belt could be now and preferred to keep it on her. With nothing left to distract her, Bella gave him a rueful look and he deadpanned, "Who _are_ you?"

Bella knew her actions over the course of the night probably painted her in the wrong light. She had an exit strategy already in place, she somehow took down an operative in the backyard, and she shot out the tires on a modified hummer trying to ram them off the road. Things didn't look good for her, but, thankfully, she could see the teasing light in Clint's eyes when he questioned her. In all honesty, Bella could tell Clint was the real professional in this situation and it should've been _her_ asking _him_ that question.

She rolled her eyes at him and answered simply, "A small town girl with a cop for a daddy."

Clint's lips twitched and he teased, "I thought your dad knew better than to put a weapon in your hand."

Bella unsuccessfully tried to stifle a smile and explained, "The summer before I turned thirteen, my dad had a rough case. There was a man in Forks raping teenage girls and he was having a hard time catching him. At that point, I guess he decided teaching me to shoot was worth the risk of getting shot." She flashed him a quick smile and ruefully added, "He did learn from his mistake, though. He started me out on a paintball gun and then moved me up to a BB gun before letting me get into the live ammo." Her voice got even quieter and she looked away before commenting offhandedly, "It was a smart move."

A startled laugh escaped him when he realized what she meant. Bella accidentally shot her dad with either a paintball or a BB pellet, both of which would sting like a bitch but cause no permanent damage. Bella blushed and shrugged her shoulders helplessly, a sheepish expression on her face. He shook his head slowly, still chuckling to himself, and Bella looked at him pointedly, "I think the real question is, who are _you?"_ She swallowed hard, a little afraid of the answer, and asked, "What happened back there? What are you involved in, Clint?"

Clint focused back on the road, suddenly nervous, and reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his badge. He knew everything was about to change, but whether that change was for the better remained to be seen. Bella spent the last eleven months avoiding government officials and agencies like the one he worked for. She wasn't running from the law, but she kept away from anything and anyone who could put her on the grid. Clint didn't want to lose her because of this. All he wanted to do from the second he laid eyes on her was protect her.

And kiss her, of course. Clint _really_ wanted to kiss her.

Bracing himself for her reaction, he held out the badge. She took it from him with tentative fingers and flipped open the leather sleeve. Relief swept through her as she looked at it. At any other time, seeing that badge would've alarmed her, especially since she was trying to keep a low profile, but in this situation? That badge was an enormous relief.

After everything that just happened, she'd been more than a little afraid that he might be a mercenary. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, though? She could handle that. She actually had a very healthy level of respect for the members of that particular agency. S.H.I.E.L.D. often dealt with superhuman threats and their ability to handle those type of cases was something that she envied. It was also something that she lacked.

"You're a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," she murmured and ran her fingers gently, almost tenderly, over the badge. She looked up at Clint, taking in how tense he looked. The tension in his body made her suspicious and she skeptically asked, "Is Clint your real name?"

Brows furrowed, Clint nodded, "Yeah, it is. I also go by Hawkeye."

"Hawkeye?" Bella repeated curiously, glancing at his bow. She had a feeling he likely earned that name because he was a trick shot.

"It's what they call me at S.H.I.E.L.D.," he explained. Clint wasn't sure why he wanted her to know his code name, but he had to admit that telling her felt right. He glanced at her and asked, "You've actually heard of us? Usually, I have to explain what it is we do."

Bella giggled and Clint started to relax. She ran her fingers over the badge again and gently reminded him, "Cop for a daddy, Clint. I know about S.H.I.E.L.D. Charlie made sure I knew, especially after Captain America and Ironman got plastered all over the front page."

Bella didn't say it, but Charlie actually told her about S.H.I.E.L.D. in case she ever ran out of options. Charlie knew Bella couldn't run forever, even if his daughter had yet to acknowledge that fact, and he honestly thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was the one organization that might actually be able to handle vampires. There were risks involved if she went to S.H.I.E.L.D., though. If Bella ever made it onto their radar, then she, and everyone connected to her, would be thrown under a spotlight, bringing unwanted attention to the wolves. Bella hadn't been willing to risk it. She'd rather run than be the downfall of the pack and Charlie understood that.

Unfortunately, Bella realized she was now in the spotlight and it was too late to do anything about it. The only thing she _could_ do was try to keep that probing light from drifting away from her and falling onto the pack. Bella hadn't known she was attracting the attention of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent when she had lunch with Clint, but she reluctantly admitted to herself that she didn't regret it. In fact, she'd do it all over again, given the choice.

Clint kept his gaze focused on the road ahead of them, which would take them back into the heart of town, and smiled a little, reminding himself to thank Chief Swan when he met him. Her dad was someone he had a feeling he'd get on well with. It sounded like Charlie Swan had gone out of his way to train Bella how to survive in the most dangerous of circumstances. He not only taught her how to shoot, he made sure Bella knew all about S.H.I.E.L.D., which was a secretive agency that few people understood. If Coulson was right, Chief Swan had also given her pointers on how to stay off the grid. Bella was likely still alive today because of what her father taught her, so Clint had a lot to thank the man for.

Clint wasn't thinking in hypotheticals, he genuinely planned on meeting him. He knew he had to deal with Loki and the two enhanced unknowns hunting Bella first, but he had every intention of pursuing a relationship with the brown-eyed beauty when everything was said and done. To say that he liked her would be a stupidly massive understatement.

Bella handed the badge back to him and gently prodded, "And back there? Who was that?"

Clint slipped the badge back into his pocket and studied Bella for a moment, eyeing her thoughtfully. Coming to a decision, Clint switched his gaze back to the road and began, "A few months back, there was an attack on a small town here, in New Mexico. Did you happen to catch that story?"

S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to cover up most of what happened and why Thor was on Earth, but the attack on that town wasn't something they could fully contain. People had witnessed Thor's willingness to sacrifice himself for them and wanted the world to know about it. Instead of reasoning with those witnesses, who thought they had one upped a government agency by discreetly posting video on the web, S.H.I.E.L.D. used the story to their advantage. They labeled the Asgardians as allies, which stopped the masses from panicking about an unknown alien race. Thor's heroic act eased the public's fears and simultaneously earned S.H.I.E.L.D. triple their normal funding.

Nodding, Bella replied, "You're talking about Thor, right? The article I read said Thor was involved. That was a big story. It meant we weren't alone in the universe."

"That's right," Clint agreed. "The guy in green back there, the one who took control of my mind," he said with a shudder, feeling sick, "his name is Loki and he's Thor's brother. He didn't trust any of us with the full story, but I got the gist. From what I understand, Odin plans to give the Asgardian throne to Thor and Loki's pissed. Loki feels a throne is owed to him, so he's planning to stake his claim on Earth. He wants to rule it, to subjugate it, and he has an army to back him up.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. found something buried in the ocean called the Tesseract. I was here to guard it, that was my assignment. Loki used the Tesseract to open a portal and came through it earlier tonight. He's going to use it again to open a portal for his army."

Bella blinked a couple of times, absorbing that. Clint glanced at her to make sure she was okay, but kept quiet. It was a lot to digest and he was honestly expecting her to freak out on him at any second. He desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, but didn't dare ask. Bella wouldn't have given him a straightforward answer anyway, because all she could think about were vampires, werewolves, and Viking gods.

 _Are all myths based on truth?_ she idly wondered. She shook her head a little, internally scoffing, _And here I thought I'd never meet a Nordic god._

When Bella finally responded, her tone was grave, "So not all of the Asgardians are allies."

Clint glanced at her, surprised she had detected something wrong with the story S.H.I.E.L.D. fed the media outlets. Bella had sharp instincts, she knew something was off, but she wasn't quite right in her assessment. They did lie to the media, but not about the Asgardians. S.H.I.E.L.D. covered up something far more important and it was now coming back to bite them in the ass. Fury had buried the name of the person responsible for sending the Destroyer to Earth and the true mission it was tasked with, ending Thor.

People viewed Thor as a hero. It didn't seem right for him to lose that because his brother was a psycho. Thor hadn't known his brother's resentment would follow him when he was banished to Earth and he had done everything within his power to make it right, including offering up his own life. Besides, they used Thor as a shining example reflecting all of the golden attributes of his people. If people knew Loki only sent that Destroyer to Earth because Thor was here, he would lose the support of the people and the masses would panic, doubting the trustworthiness of the Asgardians. Basically, people would jump to the same conclusion Bella did, assuming some of the Asgardians weren't allies. If Loki was Asgardian and sent that Destroyer, surely other Asgardians thought like he did, with a casual disregard for human life.

Thor was the future leader of his people, they supported him. Fury thought that likely wouldn't matter to the human race, though, that a good portion of them would fail to grasp that Loki was the exception to the rule. He didn't represent anyone on Asgard, not a single one of them.

Clint shook his head and clarified, "Loki is acting alone. As far as we know, the rest of Asgard supports Thor. Loki... Loki was the one who sent that Destroyer to New Mexico, Bella. He sent it here to kill his brother. Director Fury calls that attack 'an Asgardian grudge match.' That Destroyer was hands down the most powerful assassin our world had ever seen and Loki sent it to a town full of civilians. He made himself an enemy of Earth on day one and he's made it painfully clear he doesn't care about the fallout, the lives lost because of his actions."

Letting out a weary sigh, Clint added, "I brought up Thor to Loki, labeling him as a potential threat to his cause, and Loki told me the bifrost, which allows Asgardians to travel openly between realms, has been destroyed. Now that Thor is trapped back on Asgard, Loki wants to do more than send one assassin, he wants to lead an army through the gates."

Clint glanced at Bella, making sure he hadn't lost her or worse, that she didn't truly believe him. Bella was watching him with a sympathetic eye, somberly taking in every single word. Her expression was open and calm, telling him she accepted everything Clint had revealed so far. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and spoke in a low voice, hoping Bella understood the gravity of what he was about to say, "When he sent that Destroyer, he saw for himself that we don't have the technology needed to battle back his forces. He believes it will be an easy win, that it will be a massacre instead of a true battle."

Bella swallowed hard, her thoughts racing, and looked down at her hands. Clint was being surprisingly upfront about everything and that actually worried her a little. S.H.I.E.L.D. operated in the shadows and if Clint was freely giving this information to her, then she wasn't seeing everything. She took a minute to digest it all, her mind furiously analyzing everything she knew about Loki.

It wasn't long before something else started to occur to her, something that had to do solely with Loki, and every muscle in Bella's body tensed. She slowly turned to look at Clint and he raised his eyebrows at her in question. Studying his face, Bella cautiously stated, "And anyone who gets close to him could end up like you, end up having their minds controlled."

Clint locked eyes with her and said quietly, "Except you."

An explosion of curse words went off in Bella's mind and she looked around anxiously, asking, "Where are you taking me, Clint?"

When he didn't answer her right away, she turned back to face him, clearly alarmed. Clint sighed and looked away, avoiding her gaze, "We need your help, Bella. You're the only shot we have at a mental defense against him."

"Clint-"

"Look," he interrupted, "if we don't stop Loki, it doesn't matter where I take you because the whole world will be his domain. The entire planet will be under his rule. There will be no place left for you to run. Nowhere to hide."

Clint turned towards her again, looking at her intently, and stressed, "The way he takes control... It's like being _unmade_ , Bella, like he hollows you out, emptying you of everything you are, and fills you with something else. Any person he comes into contact with is at risk, but you... You protected me back there, you freed my mind. You may be the only person on earth who can't be influenced and you have the ability to share that gift with others. The whole planet is on the brink of war and you can help us stop him. You can make sure our best men aren't turned into his best soldiers and used against us. Help us, Bella." Looking straight into her dark eyes, he whispered, " _Please_."

Conflicted, Bella turned her head and looked at the road, effectively tearing her gaze away from the steel colored eyes she so admired. Clint didn't really understand what he was asking her. Though he didn't know it, Clint was asking her to choose between protecting the world and protecting the secret of the vampire race, because if she stayed with him? A vampire would eventually catch up with her somewhere down the road and Bella didn't know how long she'd be able to keep the secret if that happened.

In that moment, Bella waged an internal war, the part of her still loyal to the Cullens battling with the part of her that resented vampires because of what Victoria had put her through. She felt like she was internally being torn in half and it physically hurt.

Bella ran a trembling hand through her hair and exhaled slowly, futilely trying to center herself. Gritting her teeth, she violently punched the dashboard twice and rolled her eyes. What good was keeping the secret if Loki took control and the fate of the world fell into his vindictive hands? They'd all become slaves then, humans and vampires alike, which meant Bella didn't really have a choice.

There weren't enough words to describe just how much that pissed her off. This entire situation made her livid. She spent eleven months trying to evade a vampire army only to end up on the front lines of a war with an alien one. It made her _furious_.

When everything was said and done, though, protecting the wolves was more important to her than protecting the secret of the vampire race. She'd been hunted too long to feel too upset about the idea of S.H.I.E.L.D. discovering vampires existed and a small part of her was even secretly rooting for them, hoping they actually figured it out. The longer Bella spent on the run, the more she understood what it felt like to be prey, and it was not a pleasant feeling. She decided then and there that she wouldn't tell S.H.I.E.L.D. about vampires, but she also wouldn't deny it if someone in the agency figured it out.

She'd leave it up to fate.

Bella glanced at Clint, who had the guiltiest look she'd ever seen on his face, and nearly laughed at his expression. Clint was right though and she realized it. She also realized that if she didn't help him, if she disappeared at the first opportunity and never looked back, then there was a small chance Loki might catch up with him again, later down the line, and Bella wouldn't be around to stop him from retaking control. The energy around her mind pulsed at the mere thought and her heart spasmed painfully.

The ache in Bella's chest made her pause. She swore her world once again shifted as it dawned on her that even though she might resent being forced into this situation, her heart wanted her to be there with Clint when he walked back into danger. Not a single part of her was okay with Clint facing Loki again without her protection. Knowing her heart had already made whatever farce of a choice she'd been given, Bella wearily closed her eyes and sighed, "Fine."

"Fine?" Clint repeated, not quite believing his ears.

As quickly as it came, her fury vanished and she slumped back into her seat. Staring out the broken window, Bella nodded and said in a low tone, "Fine. I'll help you."

Surprised, he threw her a grateful look. She was angry, yes, but he really hadn't expected her to accept the situation so quickly. He'd been prepared for one hell of a fight.

"Thank y-" Clint was cut off when Bella's airbag exploded out of the dashboard. Stunned, he stared at it for a second, belatedly realizing just how hard she must've punched it. He hadn't known she was _that_ angry and he swallowed hard, feeling even guiltier than before. She had to have been beyond furious in order for a petite little thing like her to do that kind of damage. An apology was on the tip of his tongue, but then Clint heard the most amazing sound, beautiful peals of laughter. Hidden from view by the airbag, Bella was laughing.

Chuckling, Clint reached down and grabbed his knife. He twirled it in his hand once before stabbing the airbag, watching as it deflated and Bella's laughing face came into view. Her laughter was downright hypnotic and he found himself memorizing everything about her in that moment, hoping to remember the sight of her laughing for years to come. While he watched her, Clint couldn't help thinking it was worth it. To see Bella laughing so hard? It was worth everything he'd been through tonight and then some.

Sobering up a little, to Clint's utter dismay, Bella sighed and changed the topic, asking, "So what were you doing at that house?"

Tucking his knife back into the sheath strapped to his ankle, Clint explained, "The portal that Loki came through collapsed, taking the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. base with it. Staying in the area, close to the scene, would've been the last thing S.H.I.E.L.D expected. The plan was to stay there until Thompson, one of the other agents under Loki's control, could commandeer one of the quinjets being used by Search and Rescue to fly out survivors. Then we would've moved on, going wherever Loki sent us."

Thompson had likely stolen that quinjet by now, but Clint didn't know if Loki would move out immediately or stick around to hunt him down. Loki was unpredictable, so Clint wasn't taking any chances. He was getting them out of the area as quickly as possible.

Bella's interference had thrown a serious wrench into Loki's plans. Loki had chosen Clint to stand in as his second in command and now the Asgardian would have to rethink a few things. Out of the handful of agents Loki was controlling, Clint was the highest ranked. Losing control over him meant Loki had just lost the most valuable chess piece he'd gained since his arrival. Clint wasn't sure how Loki would take that loss and didn't plan on sticking around to find out.

Grimly, Clint also realized Loki wasn't the only threat he had to keep an eye out for. S.H.I.E.L.D. currently thought he was working with the enemy, that Loki still controlled him. Sadly, they were still in the process of evacuating when Loki used that portal. A lot of lives were lost when the base collapsed and Clint helped the man responsible escape. He was sure there was more than one operative out there who would love to take a shot at him, given the chance. Giving them a little time to cool off and let clearer heads prevail couldn't hurt.

A part of him was tempted to try it anyway, to drive straight back to the base and turn himself over to the agents focused on Search and Rescue, but he couldn't take the risk that they would shoot him on sight, especially since Bella was with him. Alone, it was a risk he was comfortable with taking. Hell, he'd done riskier things than that just last week. With Bella at his side, though, the very idea seemed needlessly reckless. Clint could find a smarter way back into the fold, one that didn't put her life on the line. Bella's safety was his number one priority.

What he really needed was a place to regroup, a place to hide out while he got things cleared away. He also needed access to a secure line to call Fury from. The phone he usually carried had been dropped out the window of a speeding hummer an hour earlier. If he could get a hold of Fury, he could explain what happened after the base collapsed. Fury would give him his marching orders and tell him what to do next. He had a feeling Fury would be temporarily moving Headquarters to the helicarrier and the only way they were getting on board that ship was with Fury's permission.

Clint winced a little, remembering what happened after Loki took control of his mind in the basement. He wouldn't be surprised if Fury was pissed when he eventually made that call. To get the Tesseract for Loki, Clint had actually pulled out his gun and shot Fury. That memory made him pause, though, and consider something he hadn't thought about before now. Slowly, Clint started to wonder if it was possible that he was fighting against Loki's control on a subconscious level.

If Clint had truly wanted to kill Fury, he would've aimed his gun at Fury's head. Instead, Clint had fired at Fury's heart. Fully under Loki's control, Clint hadn't thought about the fact that Fury always wore a bulletproof vest at the time, just like Clint did, and he had to wonder if he shot him in the chest because he subconsciously realized Fury would be okay. He'd definitely be sore, but otherwise uninjured.

Likewise, Clint could've easily killed Bella by snapping her neck, but he tried to strangle her instead. He still felt nauseated about trying to kill her at all, but he had to wonder why he tried strangling her that way when he could've killed her instantly with one swift move.

Was it possible that his subconscious was trying to give Bella a fighting chance, hoping she'd find a way to turn the tables on him?

"But why that house, specifically?" Bella clarified, forcing Clint to put his scattered thoughts on hold.

Clint glanced at her, taking in her intrigued expression, and explained, "I make sure I have a bolthole anywhere I go, Bella. That house was the most recent foreclosure, which meant the bank probably hadn't had the opportunity to shut off the water or electricity yet. It was also remote."

Bella gave him a dumbfounded look and he prodded, "Why were you there?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Bella quietly admitted, "The same reason. The whole remote, foreclosure thing."

Clint raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. It was surreal, realizing Bella thought the same way he did. She was good at running, almost like she'd been trained. If he hadn't already looked into her background, he'd give serious thought to the possibility that she was a foreign operative.

Seeing a pretty decent sized parking lot up ahead, Clint turned into it while commenting, "We need to talk about whatever you're running from, Bella."

Bella opened her mouth to protest and Clint quickly cut her off, "I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Bella. I know when someone is running." He pinned her with a serious look and stressed, "Whatever trouble you're running from, I now have to keep an eye out for. It's now a threat to me too."

 _Let me in,_ he added silently. _Let me protect you._

Bella stubbornly looked away, training her gaze on the shards of glass littering the floor. Clint was tempted to bring up the redhead in the airport video, positive it would make her react and force her to open up. He chose not to, though. He wanted Bella to trust him and confide in him because she _wanted_ to, not because he forced her to.

Clint shook his head and bargained, "I told you about the danger nipping at my heels..." Clint paused a second and said in a soft, genuine tone, "You can trust me, Bella. I deal with threats of all kinds for a living and I promise you I can handle the danger nipping at your heels too." He pulled into an empty spot and added, "Just think about it, okay? I gotta know what we're up against."

"Okay," Bella murmured, "I'll think about it."

Honestly, Bella wanted to tell him. She was tired of running, tired of constantly looking over her shoulder, but she was worried telling Clint about vampires would lead to the exposure of the wolves. They were her number one priority, though not her only one.

Bella hated to admit it, but she knew a small part of her was also still loyal to the Cullens. They'd left her vulnerable with Victoria on the loose, but anytime she started to resent them for it, she remembered how the Cullens saved her from James and how Edward saved her from both the van and the drunks in Port Angeles. Yes, they abandoned her, but she felt like she owed them anyway. Her silence was her way of repaying them.

Unfortunately, Bella knew it was only a matter of time before she'd have to break that silence. The longer she stayed with Clint, the greater the odds were that a vampire would catch up with them. It wouldn't be long until she had no choice but to tell him and that was exactly why she was so conflicted about helping him take down Loki. She was keenly aware that she couldn't do both, not if a vampire caught up with them before Loki was taken care of. She planned to disappear again as soon as he was no longer a threat, but if something happened before then? It was out of her hands. Bella couldn't control fate and she wasn't stupid enough to try.

As Clint parked the SUV, Bella focused on their surroundings, automatically scanning it for unseen threats. Finished, she let her eyes wander out of pure curiosity and asked, "What are we doing here?"

"Dumping this car," Clint replied. "With all the damage, it's just going to attract unwanted attention. That and Loki's men will be on the lookout for it."

Understanding dawned on her and she rolled her eyes, "You're going to steal a car."

"Exactly," Clint agreed and gave her an amused look, "glad we're on the same page."

Shaking her head, Bella giggled and opened her door. After getting out, she turned and gave the dark green SUV an appraising look. For the last eleven months, that SUV had been her only constant. More than once, she had even slept in it, too afraid to open the door if she pulled into town after the sun had already dipped beneath the horizon. She often curled up in the stuffy backseat instead, refusing to let her scent escape into the cool night air. Sadly, the car was now riddled with so many bullet holes that it would be impossible to trap her scent inside it. She gingerly ran her fingers over one, silently digesting just how close she'd once again come to death.

Clint watched her curiously out of the corner of his eye while snapping off her radio antenna, which he planned to use to break into one of the nearby cars. Honestly, he was a little unnerved by how calm she was. All in the span of thirty minutes, he'd tried to kill her, they scaled the wall of a house, led a car chase under gunfire, and he'd recruited her into helping S.H.I.E.L.D. stop an alien invasion, the last of which he himself was still having a hard time believing. Bella had yet to freak out on him and it made him uneasy. He didn't understand why she wasn't fazed by any of the danger they'd faced. Clint was used to dangerous missions, he was trained to calmly stare down the wrong end of a gun, but Bella wasn't. She was too at ease and it bothered him. It made him wonder what kind of life Bella had been living for her to react this way.

Sighing, Clint tore his gaze away from the petite brunette and focused on finding a dependable, nondescript car. Catching sight of a potential prospect, he made his way a few cars down, heading towards the south end of the lot.

It'd been a long night and Clint was more than ready to put this town in his rearview mirror. Glancing over at Bella again, he couldn't help but smile. He wasn't leaving town under the best of circumstances, but he was okay with that. Clint would gladly leave this town behind and never look back, because he was undoubtedly taking the best part about it with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick reminder that 4padfoot set up a PayPal donation link on my WP site, www.Tbvikingaddict.wordpress.com. If you’re in the giving mood, you can find the link at the top of the grey bar on the bottom of the page.
> 
> I’ve said this before, but I do have major medical problems (including benign tumors in both my feet, wrapped around major nerves), so it’s difficult for me to hold a job. Donations are greatly appreciated and help immensely with medical bills. If you’re willing, even the smallest donation helps.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> TBVA


	8. Sharpshooter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella gets a blast from the past. Clint learns a dangerous secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey... what's this?
> 
> An update?! There's seriously an update?
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga or the Avengers. Stephanie Meyers and Marvel own it all. I just like playing with Marvel's action figures and Alice's Bella Barbie.

Bella watched Clint work for a moment before letting her eyes roam over the dimly lit parking lot. Night had well and truly fallen and that knowledge made her nervous. Until now, she hadn't really had a chance to stop and think about the fact that the sun had set. With darkness pressing in on her from all sides, it was a fact she could no longer ignore.

A strong sense of foreboding took hold of Bella as she eyed the surrounding shadows. It had been nearly a year since Bella last took the risk of venturing outdoors at night. Vampires were always more active after the last of the sun's rays faded, especially the ones that hunted humans. She kept to the sunniest states in the U.S. because she knew that there were fewer opportunities for vampires to go outside during the daytime, but she was still vulnerable at night. She swallowed roughly, feeling utterly exposed in the parking lot, where she couldn't trap her scent indoors.

While Clint worked on finding them a car to hotwire, Bella warily scanned the dark edges of the lot, combing the shadows for the barest hint of movement. Shivering, she slipped her hand underneath the back of her shirt, resting her fingers on the handle of the weapon stashed in the waistband of her jeans. For some reason, she felt the need to touch it, to reassure herself that she wasn't defenseless.

Though Bella didn't know it, her sense of unease was justified. Victoria had given her scent covered clothing to every nomad she knew, asking them to contact her if they ever ran across the tempting smell of freesias and strawberries. To the redhead's immense frustration, all the leads that followed never panned out. Hell, half of the scents weren't even human.

Tired of following up on leads that often ended up taking her to a flower shop or the local farmers' market, Victoria was understandably skeptical when a nomad in New Mexico called her about a faded scent he noticed. For creatures with such keen senses and powerful minds, the redhead thought vampires could be rather idiotic at times. Assuming it would be yet another bust, she didn't even bother checking it out herself. A part of her, though, wouldn't let it drop. Needing to be absolutely sure, she sent Laurent to scout the area for her.

Laurent had been in town since sundown, scouring the area for traces of Bella's scent. He detected the barest hint of strawberries and freesias in the town square, but the trail ran cold. He was just about to give up and call it another dead end when he caught a whiff of something intriguing carried by the wind, a faint trace of fresh blood. Astonished, the nomad inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with a fragrance he hadn't smelled in years. The mouthwatering aroma swirled around him, playfully teasing him, and Laurent found it too intoxicating to resist. With a sinister smile, he turned and headed north, tracking the heavenly scent to the source.

With so much on her mind, Bella hadn't really thought about the cuts on her arm from the shattered car glass. To her, the small wounds were minor irritations. Since she was such a klutz growing up, she'd grown used to automatically dismissing such minor injuries as a fact of life. She didn't realize that the scent of her spilt blood was being pumped into the air and carried on the breeze, but her subconscious did. And it was desperately trying to warn her.

The longer Bella stood there, staring off into the darkness, the jumpier she grew. She stopped to truly think about why she felt so uneasy and it suddenly occurred to her that there might be a genuine reason for her sudden bout of anxiety, one stronger than her reluctance to venture outdoors after dark. Listening to her instincts, she took a harder look at the surrounding shadows, hesitantly stepping away from the SUV and into the middle of the lot. Bella wanted to be able to see clearly in every direction. She was not about to let a vampire sneak up on her from behind. If tonight was the night she came face to face with her past, she'd go down fighting.

Worried, Bella threw a nervous glance over her shoulder, looking for Clint. She wasn't sure why her instincts kept telling her something was coming, that danger was imminent, but she listened. It wasn't until Bella inhaled through her nose, taking in a deep, calming breath to steady her nerves, that she realized her mistake. The scent of her blood hit her hard and she looked down at her arm in alarm. Immediately, she turned her head away, biting back the wave of nausea that rolled over her, and started breathing through her mouth again. Things made sense to her now.

Bella was bleeding and blood drew vampires.

Not a second later, Bella felt it, sensing him long before she saw him. The skin on the back of her neck prickled and her heart rate sped up, something she learned early on meant that she was being watched. Bella tightened her grip on her gun and fluidly pulled it out. Muscles tense, she turned, swinging around to face the south end of the lot. 

How she knew he was there was a mystery to her, yet she somehow did. His presence brushed against her senses and her shield flexed in irritation, responding to the threat, though she didn't realize it at the time. The odd sensation was uncomfortable, like an itch she couldn't scratch.

He stepped from the shadows like a figure from a bad dream, bringing with him every painful memory she’d foolishly tried to bury. For the first time in almost four years, Bella found herself vividly recalling James. Although Victoria was constantly on the edge of her thoughts, she hadn't thought about James since he bit her. She hadn't allowed herself to. Bella didn't want to remember the way he ruthlessly hunted her down, the bitter taste of fear in her mouth when she thought she was going to lose one of her loved ones, or the surreal sensation of being burned alive without an actual flame. She’d buried the images deep, refusing to let them haunt her.

Now, the memories she'd kept locked away for so long were finally breaking free. The flashbacks were vivid, taunting her in painstaking detail with how defenseless she once was. Bella allowed them to wash over her and, once they faded back into the recesses of her mind, she realized something, something incredibly important...

She would never let a vampire victimize her ever again.

With a calm she didn't know she was capable of, Bella raised the gun and aimed it at Laurent's chest. He took another lazy step forward and she cocked it, warning him in an even, steady tone, "Stop right there, Laurent. Not one step closer."

Bella's gaze briefly rested on Clint, who had broken into a car a few spaces down. Even though he had moved towards the south end, he was only a few inches closer to Laurent than she was, about twenty feet off to the vampire's right. She brought her gaze back to Laurent and steeled herself. Bella couldn't let Laurent get to him, she wouldn't. Bella would end the vampire before she let that happen.

_She refused to let anyone else die because of her._

Clint paused at the sound of Bella's voice and looked out the front window of the Monterro he'd broken into. His senses kicked into overdrive as he took in her stance and the inhumanly beautiful male not twenty feet away from her. A spike of adrenaline seared through his veins while his instincts shouted a warning at him, alerting him to the presence of a predator.

Cautiously, Clint stepped away from the Monterro while simultaneously pulling his bow from his shoulder and quickly notched an arrow laced with explosives. Keeping in mind how easily the redhead tore into Bella's truck and the speed she was capable of, he wasn't taking any chances. If he took the shot, the arrow would explode when it hit its target.

A jumbled tangle of thoughts ran through his mind at that moment before it finally settled on one, the one that bothered him the most, _How? How did they find her?_

Even if Bella didn't have a gun aimed at the guy's chest, Clint would've instantly sensed that Laurent was a threat. It only took one glimpse of the man for Clint to make the connection between the stranger in front of him and the people hunting Bella. The similarities between him and the two enhanced unknowns in the video footage Clint found were downright eerie. From his pale, yet perfectly chiseled features to the unnaturally graceful way he moved, everything about him screamed danger to Clint. There was a distinctly predatory air clinging to him that unsettled Clint all the way to his core, especially since his hungry eyes were fixed on Bella.

Clint wasn't sure he could say that he'd ever been tempted to shoot someone on sight before, but he had the overwhelming urge to shoot Laurent after just one glance. In fact, there was only one reason why Clint hadn't shot him already and that was his reluctance to set off an explosive so close to Bella. Clint could easily duck back into the car to avoid the heat, but Bella couldn't. She was standing in the middle of the lot, too far away from any vehicle to take shelter. Unwilling to risk her life, he waited, deciding to follow her lead. He'd only shoot if he saw no other option.

Amused, Laurent paused, deciding to humor the girl. Slowly, he raised his hands in a gesture that indicated he meant her no harm, noticing how it did nothing to reassure her. She kept her gun trained on him anyway, refusing to lower it. He eyed her with curiosity, taking in her threatening pose and the odd way her heartbeat remained on an even keel, telling him she was entirely too calm for a human who truly felt threatened. Hoping to take advantage of that fact and lull her into a false sense of security, he smiled warmly and mused, "So you do remember me. Is that any way to treat a friend, Bella? You know I've been in Denali, feeding from animals like your beloved Cullens."

 _Feeding from animals?_ Clint wondered. For some odd reason, one he didn't yet understand, the words caused a shiver of unease to roll down his spine. His gaze flickered between the two when Bella smiled in return, but he wasn't fooled by it. He knew what a genuine smile from Bella looked like and the one she was currently flashing Laurent had a malicious edge to it. In truth, it unnerved Clint a little. It was an expression that was violently at odds with her sweet, tender spirit.

"Is that so?" Bella asked in a dubious tone, a breathtakingly sweet smile still on her face. "Those red eyes tell me differently, Laurent. You've been hunting humans."

Laurent's smile slowly faded and his gaze turned calculating. He shrugged in what he hoped was a rueful way and confessed, "Just between us, ma petite, sticking to the diet is hard. Occasionally, I cheat."

Bella let out a cold laugh, one that instantly put Clint on high alert, and skeptically asked, "Is that what this is, Laurent? You've made your way here all the way from Denali because you have the urge to _cheat?_ " She shook her head, her expression turning defiant, and challenged, "No, I doubt that. You're _hunting_ me. Something tells me Victoria sent you and that means she isn't sure I'm here. If she felt there was even the slightest possibility I could be, she would've come for me herself. You're scouting for her."

Laurent stared at her, unpleasantly surprised. The Bella he remembered was a skittish girl, one who let others speak for her. The Bella in front of him was different, harder. She had a confidence the meek girl he remembered lacked. That Bella was trusting, hopeful, and blind to the faults of her companions. This Bella was a force to be reckoned with, a survivor. She saw right through him and wasn't afraid to let him know it. There might’ve once been a time when he could've fooled her, but it had passed long ago. The last eleven months had chipped away the last of her naïveté. She'd grown stronger in that time and wasn't going to go down without a fight. Honestly, Laurent thought it was a shame he couldn't turn her.

"So perceptive," Laurent murmured. "Edward told Irina you were 'so perceptive.' Now I see it's true."

His gaze dropped down to her bleeding arm and he inhaled deeply, savoring her enticing scent. Disgusted, Bella watched the red in his eyes darken to black, the familiar eye color of a bloodthirsty vampire. He smiled darkly, a predatory edge to the curve of his lips, and asked, "Did you know you're bleeding, Bella?" He inhaled again and said in a silky voice, "Years later and your blood still calls to me. I almost left the area, but your freshly spilt blood caught my attention..." He licked his lips and added in a conversational tone, "You're lucky it's me, ma cherie. Victoria's plans for you are darker than you could ever possibly imagine. I will show you mercy."

"I will show you none," Bella replied, her tone still eerily calm.

Clint was honestly amazed by how calm and collected Bella sounded. He knew Laurent was one of the creatures she'd spent the last year running from, so the steady, unwavering tone she used was something he wouldn't have expected her to be capable of. She looked confident and sure, refusing to show Laurent any weakness, and Clint found himself admiring her more than ever before. The way she stood her ground was something that appealed to him at a fundamental level. Despite the danger he sensed they were in, he couldn't help taking a second to note how strikingly beautiful Bella looked as she resolutely stared Laurent down, silently challenging him to test her.

"Walk away, Laurent," Bella advised, her voice taking on a darker tone. "The blood in my veins will never touch your lips. I will kill you myself if you do not walk away _right now._ "

Clint's stomach churned as everything suddenly clicked. Even though he knew her roommate died in an odd way, he hadn't seen the direct connection between the death and the abilities of the creatures hunting Bella, but he saw it now. They were vampires, which was why Jenny was found drained.

Real, live, blood drinking _vampires_.

Laurent clucked his tongue in a mocking manner and pointed a scolding finger at her, "For such a perceptive girl, you are being foolish, Bella." He spread his arms out and arrogantly asked, "What's supposed to kill me, your gun? His arrow? I thought you knew better, child. You can't harm me. Only a vampire has the strength to end another vampire."

Clint's grip on the bow tightened while a flurry of curse words ripped through his mind. He had no idea how to kill a real vampire, though he hoped an explosion would do the trick. His fingers practically twitched with the temptation to let his arrow fly, but Clint forced himself to wait. His gut told him to trust Bella, that she had a plan. She'd been running from vampires for almost a year; she had to have been prepared for the day she finally came face to face with one.

"Accept your fate, Bella," Laurent crooned in a tender tone. "Make this easy and I will be gentle."

The look of overwhelming pity on Bella's face made the vampire hesitate. It wasn't what he expected to see from the little human and he found himself slightly unnerved. She sighed sadly and warned, "I wouldn't take that risk if I were you. Take a good look, Laurent. Clint's arrows are made of vibranium. You have heard of vibranium, haven't you? Captain America's shield is made of the same material and there isn't a stronger substance on earth. It will tear into you as easily as a warm knife through butter." Her voice then dropped to a whisper, "He will spill your venom and then I will light it on fire."

Bella was bluffing, but she did it in such a beautifully convincing way that Clint had to remind himself he didn't actually have any vibranium arrows. She needed Laurent to look away just once in order for her plan to work and making him think Clint had arrows made of vibranium was the best idea she could come up with. To her relief, the vampire took the bait.

For the first time since Clint took aim, Laurent turned his head to look at him, eyeing his bow warily. Clint winked, an action that showed a confidence he didn't truly feel, but it made the vampire even more uneasy. While Clint distracted him, Bella quickly adjusted her aim. The second Laurent's head began to turn back in her direction, Bella fired.

Clint watched in shock as the parking lot lit up with a blinding flash of red light. A flare collided with Laurent at just the right time, hitting his eye and igniting the venom there in a shower of sparks. Laurent shrieked and raised his hands to protect his face, the motions of his arms no more than a blur to their human eyes, but it was too late for him. Bella had already ignited his venom and the vampire burned quickly, leaving behind nothing but a sickeningly sweet smell and a cloud of ash and purple smoke.

Amazed, Clint slowly lowered his bow and started walking towards Bella, calling out, "That was a flare gun?"

Clint was caught off guard, which didn't happen often. What he thought was a revolver, something he hadn't seen very clearly in the dim light of the parking lot, was actually nothing more than a flare gun. Having seen the speed a vampire was capable of, he understood why Bella bluffed now. If Laurent had been looking when she fired that flare, he would've ducked to avoid it. Bella had one shot, which she timed perfectly, and Clint was fucking impressed.

With her gaze still trained on the smoke, Bella nodded, but she couldn't seem to form the words. She couldn't breathe. There was a crushing weight on her chest and she couldn't seem to push past it.

Clint slid the arrow back into his quiver and slung the bow back over his head and shoulder, freeing up his hands. When he got to Bella, he quickly snatched her up, pulling her into an almost desperate embrace. Clint just found her, he wasn't ready to lose her, especially to a fucking _vampire_.

Bella felt Clint tuck his strong arms around her and, suddenly, she could breathe again. The air left her in a rush and she wrapped her arms around his waist on instinct, latching onto him just as firmly as he did her. She turned her head, pressing her face into his neck, and breathed him in, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen. She'd forgotten what this was like... what it was like to feel again.

For eleven months, she had nothing and no one besides herself to worry about. Bella was focused on two things, surviving and staying away from her loved ones. She'd forgotten what it was like to care about someone else and now she didn't just remember what it was like to care, she remembered what it was like to _lose_.

Bella wasn't blind. She knew Laurent could've easily ended them both at any time. It was only by a stroke of luck that Laurent wanted to toy with her first. For some reason, Laurent wanted her to submit before he killed them, to willingly accept her death. If he hadn't enjoyed taunting her so much, he could've ended Clint long before she fired that shot and that knowledge... well, it was like a crushing weight on her chest.

Once again, Bella had brought danger straight to a person she cared immensely for. Bella wasn't sure how Clint had become so important to her in such a short amount of time, but he was. She cared deeply for Clint, so deeply, in fact, that she knew she'd be lost without him.

At lunch, she'd been shocked to discover she was actually attracted to someone. Then she talked to Clint and learned it was more than just a spark of attraction between them. He made her laugh, he made her feel, he made her _care_. For the first time in three years, she felt like a normal human being. Bella had been a shadow of herself for so long and Clint had brought her back into the light. He'd done something to her, brought a part of her back to life, and the newly awakened part of her wouldn't survive if she lost him. He made her feel alive again, more alive than she ever recalled feeling with Edward, and if she lost him...

She just couldn't. _She couldn't lose him._

Now that Bella had tasted life again, she thirsted for more and she couldn't go back to the way things used to be. Bella liked feeling alive. For so long, she'd felt empty and numb and she hated that emptiness. She hated feeling like she was broken inside, like she'd never be whole again. For once, she actually felt human and she _refused_ to go back to the zombie state she'd spent the last three years in. The very idea unnerved her and she reflexively tightened her hold on him.

Clint noticed and gently squeezed her back. Ducking his head a little, he rested a cheek against her hair and took in her scent, reveling in the feminine notes of the of the sweet bouquet. He knew Bella was being hunted by people with enhanced abilities, but he had no idea just how dangerous the situation was until now.

Vampires weren't just violent, they were downright vicious and bloodthirsty. From what he'd seen so far, vampires had little to no regard for human life. They were ruthless, cold, and calculating, just like he was a mere hour ago, and that alarmed Clint more than anything else that had happened since they left the foreclosed house behind. In that state of mind, they would do anything to achieve their goals and, apparently, their main goal was to track Bella down and kill her. The most worrying aspect about it all, though, was finding out there were more than just two vampires out there looking for her.

Clint just needed to hold Bella for a moment, to reassure himself through touch that she was okay and that she was still alive. He sighed in relief, all the proof he needed that she was safe could be found in the warmth of her body. Gently sweeping one of his hands up the curve of her back, he sank his fingers in her hair and trailed them soothingly through her locks as he reminded himself that she was really there with him, wrapped up in his arms, where she couldn't be safer.

Typically, danger wasn't something that fazed Clint, but he wasn't used to watching someone he cared so intensely for face that danger down. For a moment, when that vampire taunted Bella about her blood and his invincibility, Clint had felt truly helpless. He'd never come across a threat like that before, one with shocking abilities and no known weaknesses. Clint couldn't protect Bella in that moment, he hadn't known how to, and that knowledge had hit him hard. It honestly felt like someone had torn into his chest, wrapped their fingers around his heart, and squeezed. Thankfully, Bella knew exactly what needed to be done and she did it so calmly that it amazed him.

Clint couldn't tell at first, but Bella wasn't feeling so calm anymore. In fact, she was on the verge of tears. She hid her face against his shoulder and soaked up the tender warmth emanating from his body while she focused on keeping those tears from falling. Bella was having a little difficulty swallowing the events of the night so far, including the fact that Laurent would've killed Clint after dealing with her if tonight had worked out in the vampire's favor.

Bella barely held it together when the Cullens abandoned her. She sank into a depression so deep and full of pain that she simply stopped feeling in an attempt to survive. She numbed herself completely, until Jake started to draw those emotions back out. She never fully recovered, but she felt enough whispers of positive emotions to fool him.

And the darker emotions?

Well, Jake brought those out easily. Those emotions were the reason she shut down and numbed herself to begin with, so it hadn't taken much effort to reawaken them. A life full of pain and numbness wasn't enough for her, though, so she turned into an adrenaline junkie in a misguided attempt to feel a hint of the excitement she once felt around the Cullens. It worked sometimes and, when it didn't, at least it entertained the hell out the wolves. That thirst for adrenaline had stayed with her and grown over the last three years. It was still the best way for her to feel a shadow of the excitement she craved.

Today, though... today something had changed and it was undoubtedly a change for the better. She felt something spark back to life within her chest and it had changed _everything_. For the first time since the Cullens left, Bella felt the full emotional range of the human spectrum. Excitement, joy, surprise, amusement, anticipation, lust, hope... she could feel it all. Because of Clint, she could feel it all again.

After lunch, Bella had spent the rest of her day reveling in the return of those emotions, savoring them like she'd walked into a glorious and tantalizing emotional buffet. Then Clint had shown up at the house she was using and things had taken a dramatic turn.

When she realized his mind was being controlled and that he might never break free of it, Bella felt something she wasn't prepared for. To go from feeling nothing to feeling everything was a shock within itself, but the strength of what she felt was even more startling. Bella felt some of those emotions at an intensity she didn't know how to handle, like the protective instinct she felt when Clint was being controlled. The protective urge struck her so strongly that something had literally snapped inside of her, revealing her ability. Paired with that urge was a desperation she'd never felt before, not even when she realized she needed to disappear back in Seattle.

Those emotions, though, were nothing in comparison to the terror she felt when Laurent first stepped out of the shadows. She barely had a taste of it before her instinct to fight kicked in, filling her with that fierce determination to never again let a vampire victimize her. Once she decided that, an odd calm had settled over her, but that terror? That fear that she'd led Clint straight to his death? Bella couldn't forget something like that easily. All she could do was try to move past it.

Unfortunately, she was having a hard time doing just that very thing.

Against her will, her body started to tremble. Violent tremors wracked her petite frame and Clint noticed. Worried, he leaned back just a little and rested his forehead against hers. He stopped combing his fingers through her hair and brought that hand to the side of her face. Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he locked eyes with her and whispered soothingly, "You're okay. We're okay."

Bella studied his eyes for a second before closing her own. A hot tear fell from her closed lids, burning a path down her cheek, and Clint brushed it away. Though Bella might have led him straight into danger, she hadn't led Clint to his death, and feeling the warmth of his skin against hers helped her remember that. He was here and he was safe. 

Needing the reminder, she rested her palm over his heart, letting out a kittenish growl of frustration when his Kevlar vest kept her from her goal. Sliding her hand upwards, she gently pressed her fingers to his neck and sought out his pulse. Only when she felt his strong heartbeat thump beneath her hand did her shoulders start to relax. The thrum of his pulse reassured her in ways words would never be able to.

Clint was actually a little relieved to see her reacting to danger in some way, to see that fighting for her life was something that actually did affect her. At least, that's what he thought until Bella rested her palm against his chest, searching for proof that his heart still beat. It was then that he realized that, like him, the danger to herself didn't bother her in the slightest.

He stared at her for a second in astonishment, understanding hitting him full force. Bella didn't care what happened to her, she was used to feeling threatened, but the idea of Laurent ending him? That was something that shook her to her core. The revelation made his chest warm and his body thrum with pleasure. He gently kissed her forehead before resting his cheek against the top of her head again, letting his fingers comb through her hair once more. Slowly, Bella's trembling tapered off, but Clint merely tightened his hold. He wasn't quite ready to release her yet and was still struggling with how close he'd come to losing her yet again.

Relieved to know he was okay, Bella practically curled into Clint, burrowing deeper into his comforting embrace. Determined not to let her emotions get the better of her, she tuned out all of the negative emotions that hounded her relentlessly today in favor of embracing the beautiful ones he ignited within her. Focused on the intoxicating emotions and the heat coming from the arms wrapped around her, she let Clint hold her as long as he needed.

Clint looked down at Bella, a little surprised by the way she suddenly melted into him. It was like she wanted to get as close as physically possible, burrowing into him and pressing herself as close as she possibly could. He enjoyed every fucking second of it. Loved it, in fact. He'd dealt with more than one surprising emotional epiphany about the beauty in his arms tonight, so something told him she had probably just come to terms with something she felt too, something that obviously worked in his favor.

The way Bella was tucked into him made him marvel over how perfectly she seemed to fit against him. Bella was only five foot four or five, but it put her at the perfect height to tuck her head beneath his chin. Clint shifted, pressing his face into her silky hair, and closed his eyes, taking in her scent again. He didn't know why, but it seemed to calm him down. It was proof the night hadn't killed her yet. It also hadn't sent her running, which was something he'd been worried she might try when he first told her about Loki and his army.

Clint hadn't forgotten about Loki and he knew the clock was ticking, but he was determined to get just one moment with Bella, one moment where he got to hold her close after nearly losing her. So that's exactly what Clint did, he spent a moment simply holding her, reveling in the feel of her body against his. When that moment passed, Clint gave her a gentle squeeze and leaned back to catch her eye, "So, vampires, huh?"

Bella nodded numbly. One word from Clint, _vampires_ , and suddenly her mind was positively spinning over how quickly everything had just changed. She hadn't let herself focus on anything but Clint while he held her, but she couldn't ignore it any longer. Laurent had just exposed the vampire race to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and there was no way to undo it. She couldn't unring that bell.

The secret was out.

Clint gave her a bit of an amused look and she raised an eyebrow at him, testily pointing out, "Because aliens are so much more believable."

Fighting a smile, he nodded gravely and agreed in a serious tone, "Obviously."

Against her will, Bella started to smile and Clint grinned at her. Shaking her head at him, Bella glanced at the ashes again and let go of Clint. He reluctantly released her and she backed up a step, putting a few inches between them. Her face took on a slightly haunted look, one that disturbed Clint, before she looked up at him and quietly confessed, "You wanted to know what I'm running from, right? I'm running from creatures like him. He's not the only after me, Clint. Ever since I moved to Forks, it feels like a vampire has been trying to kill me for one reason or another... They just keep coming. If I stay with you, if I help you with Loki, more will eventually come."

"Okay," he said softly and she threw him a disbelieving look. He knew what she was hinting at, that he was better off without her, safer, but he didn't agree. She'd proven herself more than capable of handling both threats simultaneously and at least this way, Bella had a little backup. Smiling slightly, he tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear and added, "Why not? Thor and Loki exist. Gods exist. Why not something from the other end of the spectrum?" He let his fingers drift down the curve of her neck, his fingertips lightly tracing the vein Laurent had wanted to taste so badly, and murmured, "Vampires it is."

"Vampires and aliens..." Bella warned, realizing Clint was determined to keep her around. Locking eyes with him, she asked, "You do realize that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, right?"

"I think it sounds like fun," he quipped, aiming a slow, wicked smile her way, and Bella shook her head again, desperately fighting a grin. Somehow, Clint did make it sound like fun. Spending any time with Clint, though, sounded like fun to Bella, even if that meant battling vampires and aliens.

Stepping back, Clint turned to look at the spot the vampire was standing just a minute ago. Eyeing the ashes, he asked curiously, "Why did he burn up so quickly?"

"Because I hit his eye," she stated bluntly, turning her attention back to the ashes too. She tensed slightly, the purple cloud of smoke triggering the memory of another cloud, one she saw four years ago.

Bella shook her head in an attempt to clear it, banishing thoughts of James and the Cullens. She tucked the flare gun back into the waistband of her jeans and explained, "Vampires are venomous creatures, Clint. They're nearly impossible to kill. Their skin is impenetrable, but the venom that runs through their veins is extremely flammable. A vampire's eyes fill with venom instead of saline when they feel the urge to cry, though they can't produce actual tears. I took a chance, hoping venom keeps his eyes moist. Thankfully, I was right."

Bella was brutally honest about the kill she just made, giving him exactly what he needed to know to take a vampire down in the future. The cat was out of the bag now and Bella saw no point in lying to him.

"I warned him," Bella whispered in a low, pained voice and Clint turned to look at her, concerned. "I paid my debt. I told him to walk away. He didn't listen."

"Your debt?" he repeated.

Bella nodded, her expression troubled, and murmured, "He gave me a warning once. I owed him for that, but he didn't listen. He didn't take my warning seriously. I tried, though. That's all I can do, right? Try."

Clint gently touched her arm and rubbed it soothingly, silently showing her his support. He had a feeling this was the first time Bella ever took a life. He didn't have the heart to tell her it probably wouldn't be the last, especially with Loki preparing for war. Truthfully, she was handling it better than he expected her to, better, even, than how he handled it himself after the first life _he_ took.

Still staring at the ashes, Bella added softly, "A friend of his hunted me once and Laurent warned me. He told me and my friends that James wouldn't give up until he caught me. James saw me as a challenge, the ultimate game of cat and mouse. My friends ended him. They tore James to pieces and lit him on fire. Laurent thought that was the only way to destroy a vampire."

Clint thought back to what Laurent said, that only a vampire was strong enough to end another vampire. If Bella's friends tore him to pieces, then Bella had somehow befriended a group of vampires. The one who hunted her, James, saw her as the ultimate challenge because she was the mouse who befriended a cat, more than one if he heard correctly.

"And the redhead? Was he working with her?" Clint asked, recalling the vampires in the footage from the airport parking lot.

Bella looked at him sharply and asked, "You've seen her?"

Clint watched her carefully, cautiously explaining, "I couldn't shake the feeling you were running from something, Bella, so I ran a background check on you. The Seattle P.D.'s searching for you. They had a video of you parking your truck at the airport. Two days later, the redhead found it and tore it apart. She was caught on video."

Thrown by that discovery, Bella nodded dumbly. Charlie had warned her the police were searching for her, hoping to pull her in for questioning, but she hadn't known Victoria had been caught on camera. She was more than a little pissed that Victoria had destroyed the truck she loved so much, but, oddly enough, it didn't bother her that Clint ran a background check on her. Now that she thought about it, she should've seen it coming. He was really worried about her when he left earlier.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. Clint would've brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D. for questioning if she'd met him for lunch the next day. She didn't have it in her to feel upset about that either, especially since she knew why he would've done it. He was trying to protect her.

Relieved that she wasn't angry with him, Clint relaxed and shrugged. Bella gave him a rueful look and sighed, "That means Victoria's getting sloppy. She's exposed them."

Bella had mixed feelings about that. A part of her was saddened to discover the secret had been exposed, twice over, by vampires intent on hunting _her_ , but a much bigger part of her felt nothing but relief. She was saddened because she knew the Cullens were in danger now, that the Volturi would end them if they ever discovered the human the Cullens spared ended up being indirectly responsible for Victoria and Laurent exposing their kind. On the other hand, Bella had spent months with a vampire hunting her. She sympathized with every human that died at their hands and was honestly glad S.H.I.E.L.D. now knew they were out there. Hopefully, the agency could do something about it.

Bella was fully aware of what this meant, that S.H.I.E.L.D. would question her and that she would have to reveal every secret she ever kept for the Cullens, and she accepted it. This was the hand she'd been dealt and she had no other choice than to see where the cards would take her. The Cullens could've avoided this entire situation if they'd only stayed in Forks. Instead, they left her defenseless. They knew the risks and, still, they left her to deal with them alone. Now they would have to face the consequences of their actions. Bella couldn't protect them anymore. She shouldn't have had to protect them in the first place.

"Who is she?"

"Her name's Victoria. She's the mate of the vampire that hunted me. She wants revenge," Bella explained in a low, hollow tone. "And, yes, Laurent was working with her. They were once a part of the same coven."

Things were finally beginning to come together for Clint. Bella was James' main focus and his mate held her personally responsible for his death. She blamed Bella for winning the game. As the mouse, Bella was always meant to die in Victoria's eyes. She was picking up where her mate left off, playing a much more elaborate game of cat and mouse. Victoria just hadn't expected the mouse to be so adept at getting away.

Recalling how quickly and totally Bella had destroyed Laurent, Clint inwardly smirked. It turned out the mouse had claws of her own, which would shock the hell out of Victoria if she ever caught up with Bella. The petite brunette was prepared to go down fighting. Bella's will to survive was something Clint truly admired.

Bella cast a wary eye over the dark edges of the parking lot and stressed, "We really need to move, Clint. My blood drew him here and I don't know if he was alone."

Clint wasn't done questioning her, but she was right. If they stayed in the area any longer, they not only risked drawing the attention of more vampires, they risked being caught by Loki's men. He nodded and tilted his head towards the Monterro, saying, "Grab your stuff, Bella. I found a ride." He paused a second, glancing at the dissipating cloud of ash, and added, "I hope you've got more flares, just in case."

Bella jogged back over to the SUV and pulled her duffle bag out of the back while Clint headed back to the Monterro and hotwired the engine. Slipping the strap over her shoulder, she then dug a second flare gun out from under the driver's seat. Bella glanced at the SUV one last time before pulling a bottle of lighter fluid out of her bag. She doused the interior of the car with it, lit a match, and then tossed it through the shattered window.

Clint glanced at the burning car as she walked back over to him and shot her a questioning look. He couldn't find any records of a car registered to her real name, which meant she likely bought it off someone with cash and had them sign the title over to her. He was guessing she told the sellers a false name and then filled her real name in on the title later, so it would match the one on her license, just in case she ever did get stopped by the police. If that had ever happened, Bella would've moved on quickly, dumped the car, and bought a new one.

Clint saw no need to torch the car. As long as Bella destroyed the title, she couldn't be linked to it in any way. Even if someone reported the bullet riddled SUV to the cops and the officers decided to collect fingerprint evidence from it, it wouldn't have mattered. Neither of them had fingerprints in the database. Because of her alibi, the crime scene techs in Seattle hadn't added Bella's prints to the system and only used them when they searched the scene for prints that wouldn't match her or her roommate. Clint wasn't sure why she bothered to light her car up at all.

Picking up on his confusion, she threw her bag into the backseat while explaining, "Victoria's gonna head this way when she doesn't hear from Laurent. I'm hoping our scents out here will fade by then, so she doesn't realize we were here at all. She won't believe a human ended him, not unless she catches wind of that car and takes in the scents inside it. If our scents haven't faded out here by then, at least she won't smell your scent in the car with mine. She won't link you to me. She'll have no reason to track you if she thinks you're just a random human who walked through the lot."

Still getting used to the idea that vampires actually existed, Clint hadn't thought about something like that. He thought back to the airport video he watched of Bella, when she laid a false scent trail to all three gates, and realized Coulson was right. This was confirmation that Bella not only had insider knowledge, she knew how to use that knowledge against them. Bella knew Victoria might pick up on her scent anyway, but she used what she knew about vampires and their senses to protect Clint. She didn't want to take the risk that Victoria would hone in on his scent and start hunting him too. Appreciating the strategy of the move and touched that she'd gone out of her way to protect him from the vampires hunting her, he gave her another admiring look and she blushed again.

Glancing at the burning car once more, Clint mused, "S.H.I.E.L.D. will probably look into this. A burned out car riddled with bullet holes so close to the base? They'll find it. You did use a false name when you bought it, right?"

When she nodded, Clint chuckled, realizing it was going to leave the agents tasked with looking into it completely stumped. They'd automatically assume it had something to do with Loki, but they would never figure out who the car really belonged to, who shot it up, or why it was torched. Bella's lips twitched and Clint realized she'd thought about it too. She found the idea of a team of baffled agents just as entertaining as he did.

Aware they needed to get out of the area quickly, before someone reported a car fire, Bella quickly shut the back door and tossed the spare flare gun to Clint, "It's loaded."

Clint snatched it from the air with a grin and tucked it into his waistband. Bella pulled out a couple extra rounds she kept in her messenger bag and handed them to Clint before reloading her own. Using a flare gun was just one of the many ideas she and Charlie discussed as a possible way to defend herself. She knew her dad would be thrilled to learn it actually worked.

Clint stashed the spare rounds in his back pocket and climbed into the driver's seat. He waited for Bella to climb into the passenger seat before putting the car into drive, casually commenting, "Nice shot, by the way. Impressive, actually. I knew you had a good eye, but I didn't realize you were a sharpshooter."

Bella smiled fondly and said in explanation, "My dad's not a regular cop, he's the Chief of Police back home. He put me through the same drills his officers go through and then some."

The drills Charlie put her through were honestly part of the reason she stopped spending her summers with him after she turned fifteen. Charlie knew Bella had a knack for guns and wanted her to spend all her free time at the range or the station, honing her skill. At the time, that was the very last thing she wanted to do. She preferred reading to shooting and wanted to do nothing more than curl up with a good book. Now, however, she was extremely grateful Charlie had spent that time training her. She wouldn't be alive without that knowledge.

"Still, not every cop is that accurate, Bella," Clint remarked and floored it, burning rubber as he sped out of the lot. He desperately wanted to put the whole town behind them as quickly as he could. That was twice now he nearly lost her and a part of him felt like the whole town was cursed.

A few minutes later, he glanced at Bella with a thoughtful expression and decided, "We need to find a place to clean up, especially if you're bleeding. There's a S.H.I.E.L.D. hideout about two hours away."

Clint's gaze drifted to her arm, noticing one of the cuts looked a little deep. He unzipped one of his pockets and pulled out a packet of gauze, which was something he always carried on him. Injuries came with the territory and he went through a few rolls every week. Bella hesitantly took it from him and applied pressure to the wound. He cut her a quick look and added, "Fill me in. I want to know everything you do about vampires."


	9. When Good Men Do Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella explains her history with vampires, revealing a whole heap of survivor’s guilt in the process. 
> 
> Clint makes her an offer that stuns her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter turned out to be so much longer than I thought it'd be, but I flat out refuse to let the car ride to the safe house take up more than one chapter. There just wasn't a good place to cut it, so you're all in luck. Apparently, TB Viking Addict's having a two for one sale… well, you know, except for the sale part…
> 
> *Rolling eyes*
> 
> Okay, here's what you need to know about this chapter: I am fully aware that Bella didn't know much about the Volturi until after she met them, but I'm changing that. Bella still doesn't know much about them, but Edward filled her in on a few more details in this fic back when she caught sight of that painting in their house. In my version, she knows that there's a law about either killing or changing humans who know the secret. She also knows a few small details about the guard, Aro, and Marcus. Edward wanted to stress how dangerous they were, so he told her those basic details. For all you hardcore fans who get irritated when things don't line up chronologically… Woops!
> 
> Yeah, pretty sure that's it.
> 
> Disclaimer: The Avengers and the Twilight Saga belong to Marvel and Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing. I just think that though Bella might've made a cool vampire, she had all the potential to be one mother truckin' badass human…

"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." -Thomas Jefferson

~O~

Bella looked out the window at the passing scenery as an odd state of numbness settled over her, focusing her weary gaze on the endless miles of dark desert stretching out around them. Clint wasted no time in putting the sleepy town behind them, casting a concerned glance her way when they passed the town limits. He'd mercifully given her a minute to collect her thoughts, but he could've given her years and she still wouldn't have been prepared to share this story. All the time in the world wouldn't make this any easier.

Nothing would.

Bella couldn't quite believe everything had led to this, to revealing the secret she once kept with a passion. Years ago, keeping the Cullens' secret meant more to her than her own life. She once believed she'd take that secret to the grave, that nothing else was more important.

She knew better now.

Making it through the last eleven months had not been easy. In fact, the path she'd chosen had been a grueling one and Bella understood so much more about the world and life in general after taking such a dark and lonely road.

There was a time when Bella once fantasized about becoming a vampire. Instead of seeing that fantasy become a reality, she learned firsthand what it meant to be the prey. She once viewed the bloodthirsty vampire way of life with wide-eyed wonder and an almost childlike delight, refusing to acknowledge the dark world simmering just beneath the surface, and fate had decided that just wouldn't do.

The blinders on her eyes had been brutally stripped away from her and Bella was slapped with the cold, hard truth. The Cullens were genuinely good people with beautiful hearts, but she'd been willfully blind to their true nature. They were _predators_ , a fact that she'd always ignored. Drawn in by the beauty of the Cullens and the allure of immortality, Bella never stopped to consider what it truly meant to be a predator. Worse yet, she refused to acknowledge that a predator was nothing without its _prey_.

When Bella lived in Forks, all she saw whenever she looked at the Cullens was the potential beauty that could be found in the life of the world's most formidable predator. She spent the last eleven months experiencing the flipside of that coin, learning just how grim and ugly life could be as a vampire’s prey. The Cullens were a peaceful coven, so Bella never realized just how violent and vicious the supernatural world actually was until long after she became so entangled with it that she would never break free.

Bella now understood what it meant to be hunted. She also now understood the true cost of keeping the secret. Bella had always known there was a cost to being in the know, but she naively thought that being forced to constantly lie to everyone she loved was the extent of it as long as she remained human. She thought the _true_ cost would come with the change, when she would be forced to cut every tie she ever had.

She learned just how wrong she was over the last eleven months. The _real_ price? It was paid in human blood.

Those blinders she wore were torn away from her the night she found Jenny's lifeless body in her dorm room. She hadn't really liked Jenny and found her incredibly shallow, but that didn't mean the girl deserved death, especially such a violent one. The brutal death of her roommate hadn't just hit Bella hard, it delivered a crushing blow, forcing her to acknowledge the real cost of keeping the secret. Her silence had led to Jenny's death and every day she kept quiet, more people were preyed upon and killed. In Bella's eyes, the cost was too steep and she'd known it for a while. The price was something she could no longer afford, especially since unsuspecting, innocent people were the ones paying for her silence.

Bella had known this moment was coming, that it was inevitable once she decided to leave things up to fate. She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. She'd barely made the decision to let fate decide whether or not to reveal the vampire secret ten minutes before Laurent stepped out of the shadows. The vampires she knew were always so afraid of this moment, afraid of what would happen if their secret ever came to light, and Bella had developed that same fear. Now that the moment had actually come, though, she realized she wasn't afraid anymore.

Fate had guided her here, to this point, and put her in a position to help others, to help all the faceless victims of vampire bloodlust. Bella was smart enough to realize that and she listened to what fate was telling her, that she wasn't meant to keep the secret. In her heart, she was more relieved than upset. This secret had been slowly eating away at her ever since Jenny's death, consuming her with guilt the longer she remained silent, and she could no longer justify her loyalty to the Cullens, not with the bloodshed of innocents at stake.

Clint noticed the distance in Bella's voice as she began her story, starting with the day she moved to Forks. He didn't like it, but he kept quiet anyway, recognizing it as a defensive technique. Emotionally distancing herself was the only way Bella was going to make it through her history without breaking down, so he listened in silence while she told him a story about a girl who fell in love with a vampire, setting into motion a heartbreaking string of events that put her on the lonely road here.

One part of his tactical mind was storing away everything she revealed about vampires, filing away the abilities they had, the terms she used, the names she mentioned, the significance of red and golden eyes, and every other detail that spilled from Bella's lips. Another part of him, on the other hand, was silently marveling over everything she'd been through. Bella was a survivor, that was painfully clear, and it was never more obvious to Clint than it was at that moment.

As he learned just how much she'd been through over the last four years, Clint looked at her thoughtfully and realized she desperately needed this, a chance to get it all out. Her dad might've known something about vampires, but he highly doubted Bella told Charlie everything she was currently telling him. Finally getting the chance to unburden herself was probably both painful and a release for her. For years, she carried the weight of this burden alone, with no one to confide in, no one to discuss it with. Still, she loved the family she met. It was painful for her to betray their trust.

He definitely understood now why Bella had so adamantly denied being in danger at lunch, refusing to tell him who she was running from. She knew that Clint was well-trained just by looking at him, but she hadn't known he was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She hadn't known he was a part of the one organization that had the resources, tools, and training to take on a threat like vampires. Oblivious to that fact, Bella believed confiding in him would've just made him a target. She fled her hometown to protect it from Victoria's wrath and felt that same need to protect Clint. He understood that now and appreciated it.

Foolishly, Clint had assumed at lunch that he could protect Bella from whatever she was running from. Bella, however, knew that even with whatever training he had, it wouldn’t be enough. Clint wouldn't have been able to protect her from the vampires hunting her. It was a blow to his pride, but he was forced to admit she'd been right at that point in time. Clint knew nothing about vampires and wouldn't have known how to help her. He'd been amused when he first realized Bella thought she was protecting him; he'd somewhat arrogantly believed there was nothing out there he couldn't handle. After their encounter with Laurent, though, he knew better now. He hadn't known how to protect her in that moment, not until Bella gave him the rundown on the biology of vampires and revealed the only weakness they had, their flammable venom.

Clint also saw something he hadn't seen earlier, that Bella hadn't refused his offer to help her just for his sake. He wasn't the only one she was trying to protect. She was also trying to keep the vampires she befriended safe by keeping their secret. Now she had no choice; she couldn't keep quiet anymore. Laurent's actions had forced her hand.

While Clint drove, Bella told him everything she knew about vampires and how she got involved with them. The only thing she didn't tell him was what she knew about the pack. She fled Washington to save them, to protect them, so she kept that secret to herself. It was hard enough for Bella to tell him about the Cullens, let alone the wolves.

Even though, deep down, a part of Bella felt like she'd always known Clint, the truth was that she’d only met him a short time ago. Conversely, she spent over a year trying to protect the wolves. It had been her drive for the last eleven months and knowing that they were safe was the one thing that kept her going. A large part of her argued with her over her decision to keep it from Clint, reminding her of how badly keeping the vampire secret had almost backfired on her, but she couldn't let go of her need to protect them so easily. She'd been protecting the wolves for so long that it felt like it was literally ingrained in her to always put the pack first and, though she trusted Clint, she was guarded when it came to S.H.I.E.L.D. Like the rest of the pack, she was wary of any government agency and she was determined to protect her family at all costs.

In Bella's mind, there was a huge, glaring difference between the secret of the wolves and the vampire secret. The wolves of La Push were guardians entrusted with the task of protecting humanity. Most vampires had little to no respect for human life, but the wolves? It was their purpose to protect everyone on their land from supernatural threats. It defined them and the wolves of La Push were proud to call themselves guardians. Vampires preyed on humans, but the wolves did the opposite. They kept their people and every human in Forks safe.

S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with superhuman threats and the wolves might've been superhuman, but they were certainly not a threat. If the pack decided one day to get involved with S.H.I.E.L.D., then that was their decision, but Bella wouldn't make that decision for them.

With that in mind, Bella was very careful with how she phrased things when she revealed that Victoria was changing others, pitching it in a way that made it sound like Victoria was creating an army because the redhead knew that Bella would retreat to the safety of Cullen territory. It wasn't technically a lie, but she left out the fact that Cullen territory was actually now considered wolf territory.

To Clint's ears, it sounded like Victoria was creating an army to take on the coven on the off chance that the Cullens still lived there. She felt a sharp pang of guilt over the omission, but she refused to betray the wolves. They were her family. Literally. Seth and Leah were her step-siblings. The letters she read earlier today just reinforced her resolve. If Clint still wanted to involve himself with her after everything was said and done, then she hoped he'd forgive her one day, after he met them himself.

Bella was also hesitant when it came to revealing the gifts the members of the Cullen coven had, but Clint didn't push her on the subject. She told Clint three of them were gifted and she was going to have to explain the details of those gifts at some point, but Clint let it slide for now. He knew Bella was struggling enough as it was, so he decided not to press her for more until she was ready.

After spending years working for S.H.I.E.L.D., it was surprisingly easy for Clint to accept the existence of vampires. Other parts of her story, on the other hand, were actually hard for Clint to hear. When Edward decided to get involved in her life, he drew her into a violent, dangerous world, one that Bella was woefully unequipped to deal with. He struggled internally with his protective instincts throughout her entire story. She was only seventeen years old at the time the Cullens got involved with her and Clint found himself yearning to protect her from something that had already happened.

He was oddly conflicted when she talked about the Cullens. Bella didn't go into much detail about her relationship with Edward, but what she did reveal was still hard for him to swallow. She loved him fiercely and that knowledge bothered Clint more than he thought it would.

It'd been a while since he showed an interest in a girl and he couldn't remember the last time he felt jealous or insecure, but learning that she wanted to become a vampire, that she wanted to spend eternity with Edward… well, it definitely made an impact on him. Just hearing that she even considered giving up her humanity for him had Clint nearly drowning in jealousy and possessiveness. It took him longer than he was willing to admit to rein those emotions in.

After he finally got a handle on it, he stared at the road ahead in shock, completely blindsided by just _how_ possessive he felt. Clint wanted her from the second he first saw her, but something inside him had shifted over the course of the night. He no longer just wanted her, he felt Bella was _his_ and it bothered him to think that someone else could lay claim to her heart.

Clint was fully aware that he was thinking like a caveman, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. _She was his,_ damn it. She just didn't know it yet.

For the first time since she began her story, Clint interrupted. He hadn't consciously decided to say anything, but the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, "What about now?"

Bella finally tore her gaze from the window and looked at him, her brow puckered in confusion.

"Do you still want that?" Clint clarified. Meeting her gaze, he swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "If they showed up tonight and offered to change you, would you…" He paused a second, wetting his painfully dry lips, and warily pressed, "Would you say yes?"

For the briefest moment, Bella's expression finally showed a genuine emotion. Eyes hardening, she vehemently shook her head and stressed, "They left me, Clint. I can't hate them for it, _but I really wish I could_. I can't because I understand why they left. I know what it's like to leave someone behind in an effort to protect them, so I'd be a hypocrite if I judged them for it, but the Cullens left a mess behind that I wasn't strong enough to clean up on my own.

"Because of their actions, my roommate is dead, I had to walk away from everyone I love, and I've spent every day of the last eleven months wondering if that day would be my last. I can't…" Bella looked away, her breath hitching, and the sound made his heart clench. Staring at the dashboard, Bella finished in a soft, definitive tone, "I can't imagine being a vampire anymore. Not now. Not when I understand what it's like to be their prey."

A tension filled silence rose between them and Clint stared at her for a moment, sorely regretting that he asked her that question. He was suddenly getting a glimpse of the soul deep wound reflected in her pained eyes and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Everything she'd been through, everything she'd suffered at a vampire's hands, it hurt her deeply. The last three years of her life had left their mark on her and the naive girl who once looked upon vampire life with wonder and awe had died long ago. In her place stood a young woman with a spine of steel, one who was intimately familiar with the word sacrifice. She was undoubtedly a survivor and one of the strongest people he knew, but a small part of him mourned the innocence she lost on the road to get here.

Focusing his eyes on the road again, he said in a rough, quiet voice, "I'm glad they didn't change you, Bella."

A small, sad smile tugged at Bella's lips and she whispered, "Me too, Clint."

Still feeling unsettled after catching a glimpse of that soul deep wound, Clint realized he was angry with the Cullens. He was incredibly pissed at them for getting her involved in their world just to abandon her later, leaving her vulnerable, but he also understood that Bella loved them, even now. They saved her life on more than one occasion and he honestly didn't view them as enemies. In fact, he respected both the Denali and Cullen covens for finding a way to coexist peacefully with humans and he planned to approach Fury about their protection when the time came. Fury was a fair man, he wouldn't order the death of any vampire willing to feed from animals and might even consider allying with the ones who fed from rapists and murderers.

It was vampires like the Volturi who were in for a rude awakening. When Bella first mentioned them, Clint stopped her and grilled her for specifics.

"There's a coven in Volterra?" he interrupted. A look of understanding washed over his face and he murmured, "That's what's happening to the tourists. They're being lured in and drained."

Bella threw a worried look his way and probed, "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been looking into Volterra?"

Clint nodded, his jaw tense, and explained, "Hundreds of tourists go missing every year when they visit the city. Whole families, including children, just disappear. We've lost agents in Volterra, Bella. We send them into investigate and they never return."

Bella's heart broke with that knowledge and she struggled internally with a wave of guilt. She didn't know the Volturi targeted families and hadn't realized they fed on children. Fighting back tears, she released a shaky breath and warned, "The Volturi are the most powerful coven on earth. They rule over the others and enforce their laws. They're extremely dangerous, Clint. I don't know much about them, but I do know they're ruled by three kings and one of them, Aro, is a collector of vampires with gifts.

"Edward told me about two vampires in his guard called the witch twins. One has the ability to cause pain so intense it feels worse than the change and her brother can numb all the senses, including sight and sound. His gift works on crowds. They have a tracker too, one who can find you anywhere after meeting you only once. Edward said he was a hundred times more powerful than James."

Clint nodded slowly, feeling undeniably sick. He couldn't believe there were vampires in Volterra, right under their noses, and S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't figured it out by now. Not for the first time, he felt a rush of admiration for the girl sitting next to him. Bella managed to figure out vampires existed and she did it without even a fraction of the resources at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s disposal. She was the only human on earth to get close to vampires and live.

"I need to know everything," he said with a weary sigh. "Names, gifts… tell me whatever you do know about the Volturi."

Bella nodded and returned her gaze to the window while she finished filling him in. After she was done, she pressed her forehead to the cool glass and closed her eyes. She had so many regrets now, so much to atone for.

Clint eyed her worriedly and rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. He had a feeling telling him what she did cost her more than he knew. Concerned, Clint gently spoke up, "I know you considered them family and this must feel like a betrayal to you, but you did the right thing, Bella."

"I know," Bella whispered. Even though she agreed with him, her voice sounded so painfully hollow that it made Clint's heart ache.

Confused and a little frustrated, Clint asked, "Then what's the problem?"

He sucked in a painful breath of air when Bella turned to look at him, her chocolate eyes full of tears. Shaking her head, she asked, "Don't you realize what I've done, Clint? I've known about vampires for _four years._ How many people do you think died at a vampire's hands during that time frame?! I should've done something about it years ago, but I didn't because I'm _selfish_. I wanted to be a part of that family so badly that I ignored the victims. _I let people die._ "

Clint pulled off the road and put the car in park while she added in a voice laced with desperation, "How many people have died because of me, Clint? Even if I didn't consider all the deaths caused by vampires out there hunting humans, how many did Victoria turn because of me? And what about the people her vampires drank from? Every person drained by the vampires she created died because she was building an army to get to _me!_ " The expression of utter despair on her face nearly destroyed him. She looked down at her trembling hands and whispered, "I protected the wrong people. The ones who needed me to step up and do the right thing? They're dead now. I could've saved them by coming forward. Their blood is on my hands."

Bella hadn't meant to let the words escape her, but the guilt had overwhelmed her and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Seeing Laurent tonight had shaken her more than she realized, but it wasn't the fact that a vampire found her that bothered her, it was seeing his blood colored eyes and realizing he'd been hunting humans since the last time she saw him.

Bella had always known, in an abstract way, that most vampires fed from humans, but watching the effect her blood had on Laurent really drove it home. Taking a life meant absolutely nothing to him and Bella had inadvertently protected him for the last four years by keeping the secret. There were innocent people being hunted out there that she could've saved. The blood that was reflected in his eyes came from a real person, possibly a girl just like her, and that person would still be alive if she had come forward, if she had let S.H.I.E.L.D. in on the secret earlier.

At first, Bella felt bad about killing Laurent. He was a predator doing what came naturally to him, did he really deserve to die for that? But then his death really sank in. She actually _killed_ a vampire, which meant she just saved countless lives because Laurent would no longer be around to sate his bloodlust.

On the heels of that thought came the revelation that if she could kill a vampire, then S.H.I.E.L.D. would've quickly found a way to deal with them too. How many people could they have saved if she had just informed them sooner? How many lives did Bella let slip through the cracks by keeping her mouth shut? She'd already been feeling enormously guilty for keeping her silence over the last few months, but she had reasoned to herself that revealing the secret wouldn't make a difference. She told herself that there was nothing anyone could do about vampires anyway, not with their gifts and abilities. The realization that it truly was possible for a human to kill a vampire made that guilt bubble over and stain her thoughts.

All Bella had ever wanted to do was protect the ones she loved. She never wanted this… this _burden_.

Knowing the secret once felt like a privilege, now it felt like a curse. How did a teenage girl from Forks get entrusted with such a monumental secret? Why did fate lay such a heavy burden on _her_ shoulders? If Bella came forward, the entire vampire race would be hunted, but if she kept it to herself, innocent lives would be lost to vampire bloodlust. Bella had to weigh the safety of a supernatural race against the lives of countless innocent people and she found herself buckling under the pressure. No matter what she decided, people would die. She couldn't make that decision and now she realized that her inability to decide had cost thousands of people their lives.

Bella realized now that the right thing to do would've been to protect the victims, not the predators. Laurent had shown her that vampires didn't want or need her protection, but their victims did. Vampires just wanted her blood, but the victims? The victims needed her even if they didn't know it. She’d failed them and that realization tore her up inside.

When Bella was just a little girl, she once asked Charlie why he became a cop. He answered her with a quote, one that would be forever burned into her mind, "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."

Bella never imagined she would be the one to let evil triumph through her inability to act, but she had. She truly felt like a monster in that moment. She was a bigger monster than a vampire could ever be. Vampires killed to survive, it was in their nature, but Bella had no such excuse to explain her behavior. Thousands of people were drained over the last four years and Bella knew about it. She could've put a stop to it.

Instead, she did… _nothing._

The sheer magnitude of the consequences of her decisions hit her full force in that moment. So many lives had been lost because of her failure to act. Trembling from head to toe, Bella's tears finally spilled over and her breath caught in her throat.

_What had she done?_

Clint reached over and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his lap. A gut-wrenching sob escaped her and he let it run its course before shifting her closer, pulling her against him as he wrapped his arm securely around her waist. His free hand drifted up her arm, his electrifying touch sending shivers running through her as he lifted it to her chin and tipped it up. Forcing her to meet his eyes, he let his hand rest against her jawline. Her flushed cheeks were wet with a never-ending stream of tears and there was so much damn guilt in her chocolate eyes that Clint swore he felt his heart breaking.

She was tearing herself apart inside for not coming forward sooner, for not stepping in years ago, and taking on the responsibility of what had to be thousands of deaths in the last four years. Clint thought she felt guilty about breaking the Cullens' trust, but that wasn't it at all. She felt guilty all right, but that guilt had nothing to do with the Cullens. Bella felt directly responsible for the victims of vampire bloodlust in the last four years and that was a weight much too heavy for her small shoulders to carry.

Idly, Clint wondered just how long those deaths had been haunting her. How long had she been feeling this poisonous guilt and tormenting herself with the cost of her silence? He could tell just by the bone-weary look in her eyes that it'd been plaguing her for a while. Today was not the first day Bella thought about it and he could see that in the sheer depth of the guilt she felt.

Clint hadn't known Bella for long, but from everything she just confided in him he'd gleaned something incredibly important about her, that she was a protector. The last year of Bella's life had been all about _protecting_ the people she loved and the idea that she hadn't protected the ones who needed her most was devastating to her. She was internally berating herself for making the wrong decisions, for not acting sooner, and felt like she had let the lives of innocent people slip through her fingers.

And Clint knew exactly what she was going through. He'd been there.

His normally deep, husky voice came out in a low and tender tone, one he wasn't sure he'd ever used before, "You can't think that way, Bella. Trust me, every agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. has thought that way at some point, myself included, and it will destroy you if you let it. You begin to wonder how many more you could've saved if you'd only stepped in sooner, if you'd just reacted faster, or made a smarter decision… It starts to eat away at you and keeps you from being strong enough to help the ones you actually can save. It's a vicious, destructive cycle and you need to end it right now, before it gets worse. You need to think about the facts, not the what ifs. The fact is, you are not a murderer. The only one you killed was Laurent and that was in self-defense.

"You are not responsible for the actions of every vampire in the world, Bella, nor are you responsible for Victoria's actions. You have done nothing wrong. In fact, your actions have saved lives instead of ending them. By leaving Seattle when you learned Victoria was changing others, you drew her focus away from Forks and saved everyone in that town. You kept her from creating more by disappearing. Without a target, she had no reason to keep building her army. Stop thinking about the ones you couldn't save and think about the ones you did. You did the right thing."

"I didn't, Clint-"

"Yes, you did," Clint interrupted gently. He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and pointed out, "Going to the authorities with a story about vampires would've gotten you institutionalized, Bella. You had no evidence. Even if you went to S.H.I.E.L.D., we wouldn't have believed you without evidence."

"But I _had_ the evidence, Clint," she protested, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She raised her arm and turned it so he could see the bite mark on her forearm. "When Edward sucked the venom out, it left a scar. The venom was pulled from my veins, but it still altered my skin. It's cool and hard to the touch and it glitters in the sunlight."

Clint gently wrapped his hand around her wrist and stroked his thumb over the cool scar. He locked eyes with her again and argued softly, "This wouldn't have been enough. Nobody would've taken you seriously long enough to look at the scar, Bella." He paused a second, letting her absorb that, before asking, "Your dad knows about them too, right? You survived under the radar for so long because he helped you. He told you how to keep hidden and got the FBI to drop the missing persons investigation."

Bella wasn't quite sure how Clint knew Charlie was in on the secret, but she didn't deny it. She refused to explain how Charlie knew, letting him form his own assumptions, but she wouldn't lie and claim her dad was ignorant. She was done lying to Clint.

When Bella nodded slowly, confirming Coulson's suspicions, Clint pointed out, "He's a cop, Bella. A high ranking one. If your dad couldn't find a way to report it without sounding crazy, what makes you think you could've? You were just a teenager. A victimized teenager. Your dad wasn't. Do you blame your dad for any of those deaths?"

"Of course not," she replied instantly.

Clint smiled slowly when she stilled, registering what she just said. He brushed his thumb over her cheek and softly ordered, "Then let it go. You aren't any more at fault than your dad is. You're both just victims of circumstance. You were let in on a secret not meant for mortal ears and did the best you could with the resources you had. Now that you _can_ actually do something about it, you jumped at the opportunity to protect others. That's all that matters. Let it go."

Clint wasn't even going touch the remark she made about being selfish, afraid that if he got started on the topic, he'd never stop. Bella was quite possibly the most selfless person he'd ever met. Everything she did was for others. She sacrificed her future and left behind everything and everyone she ever loved in an attempt to draw Victoria away from Forks. She constantly put everyone else first and herself last. There wasn't a selfish bone in her body.

One final tear escaped her and Clint brushed it away. Feeling slightly awed by him in that moment, Bella searched his eyes for a second, wondering to herself what she could've possibly done to deserve someone like Clint crossing her path.

From the moment she'd met him, he'd been trying to help her. Whether it was from an unknown threat, Loki, vampires, or her own guilt, he was constantly trying to protect her and he did it in a way that encouraged her instead of limiting her. Edward was constantly trying to protect her too, but he made her feel so weak in the process, so fragile. He treated her like she was fashioned from spun glass, like she could fall and shatter at any given moment. Clint, on the other hand, made her feel strong.

He helped her when she faltered and offered her support when she needed it, but he also willingly took a step back when it was obvious she wanted to take the lead. Instead of holding her back because he was afraid she'd get hurt, he let her protect _herself_. Hell, he even slipped a gun in her hand when she wanted to shoot and he did it with a grin on his face. In fact, she had a sneaking suspicion that he _liked_ it every time she proved she didn't need his help. 

In a moment of clarity, Bella realized that while Edward tried to fight for her, Clint wanted to fight beside her.

Before she even consciously realized what she was doing, Bella was leaning in to kiss him. She paused a breath away from his lips, her gaze focused on his mouth, and savored the way the air between them instantly heated. That _delectable_ heat was something completely new to Bella. Edward's natural body temperature was so much colder than her own that his body often stole heat from her, but his cool skin never radiated it and it definitely never returned it. She'd kissed Jacob once or twice too, but his skin was so warm that the heat radiating off of him was uncomfortable, not tantalizing. That heat rising between them was a heady, intoxicating sensation and she was quickly becoming addicted to it.

Blushing furiously, Bella glanced up at Clint, peeking up at him through her lashes while she wondered if he felt that drugging, seductive heat too. Clint's gaze was intently fixed on her lips and it sent a thrill running through her, flooding her veins with a delicious hit of adrenaline. Slowly, Bella leaned in, her hand drifting up to rest against the side of his neck as she closed the remaining distance between them and pressed an achingly tender kiss to his lips.

Clint caught her by surprise earlier that night when he stole a kiss on the overhang of her safe house. Bella had felt the way the air heated between them and the way his body brushed against hers set her own petite frame alight with desire, but she hadn't expected him to actually stop and kiss her while they were trying to escape. She hadn't been prepared for it, but she knew now that nothing could've ever fully prepared her for that moment. Kissing Clint was like grabbing hold of a lightning bolt. Pure electricity had surged through her veins, like her very being had been electrified by just his touch alone. Her body had practically hummed with it and it was like nothing she'd ever felt before.

Admittedly, Bella didn't have much experience in the romance department. All she had to compare that electrifying kiss to was Edward's chaste, painfully controlled pecks and a couple extremely awkward, fumbling kisses with Jacob. Still, Bella was positive a kiss like that was an incredibly rare experience. The sensations alone were beyond extraordinary, leaving her flushed and breathless. Clint already made her feel alive, but kissing him… the way it made her feel was in a fucking league of its own.

When Bella leaned in and pressed her lips to his, she was fully expecting to feel that same electrified charge, but what she felt instead was so much better. Instead of the passionate, electrifying kiss they shared earlier, this kiss was tender and achingly slow. That delectable heat she felt growing between them seemed to be building, but then she realized the heat she felt was no longer saturating the air around them. No, that heat came from inside her. It was a deliciously slow burn building in the pit of her stomach and the heat from that flame radiated throughout her body, washing over her in warm, decadent waves. Pure lust and desire unfurled in her chest and warmth swept through her body, making her melt against him.

She nearly lost herself completely in the sheer pleasure she felt from that sinful kiss and forced herself to gently taper it off, afraid she'd forget what she was doing entirely if she kissed him any longer. Pulling back slowly, she met his eyes and her heart skipped a beat at the heat in his gaze. Blushing prettily, she willed herself not to buckle under that intensity and look away. Somehow managing to keep her eyes trained on his, she tried to convey just how grateful she was to have him in her life and whispered, "Thank you."

Clint nodded, sensing how much she meant it, but his mind was still focused just how tantalizing that kiss was. His right hand wandered to the nape of her neck and he pulled her right back to his mouth to kiss her again, savoring the feel of her soft lips against his. He could've easily gone on kissing her for hours, but the warm liquid trickling onto his left hand quickly refocused him. He broke away from her lips reluctantly, relishing the disappointed sigh that escaped her, and looked down at her arm.

Frowning, he paid closer attention to the bloody gash on her bicep, his fingertips tracing the edges of the wound, "That'll need stitches." Thankfully, the gauze he gave her earlier was still tightly clutched in her left hand. Gently, he brought her hand up, uncurling her fingers, and pressed it over the cut. "Keep pressure on it. We're only about ten minutes away, then I'll sow it up."

Clint glanced at her face, immediately noticing how pale she'd grown and the disturbing way she was staring at her arm, her expression undeniably faint. Amused, he chuckled and her gaze snapped up to his. Grinning wickedly, he taunted, "The girl with all the vamp intel gets freaked out by blood? _Seriously?_ "

She gave him a dark look and reminded, "Laugh it up, Romeo, but this wound right here? That's how I'll always remember my first night out with Clint."

His face fell and a beautiful laugh escaped Bella. Delighted to hear her laughing, even if it was at his expense, Clint rolled his eyes and asked, "Ready to go, Buffy?"

"You really don't want to go there, Robin Hood," she warned playfully and climbed her way back into her seat.

Clint tried his best not to pout, belatedly realizing just how much he enjoyed having her in his lap. He nearly rolled his eyes at himself for being an idiot, aware she’d only moved because of a comment he made. He did it to himself.

"Robin hood," Clint muttered distractedly, still annoyed with himself, and pulled back onto the road, "I am so much cooler than Robin Hood."

"I don't know about that, Clint," Bella said skeptically and Clint whipped his head in her direction to look at her. She shrugged, casually pointing out, "The legendary Hawkeye has yet to actually shoot that badass bow." She cut him a challenging look and whispered, "Makes me wonder if you even can…"

His jaw dropped and Bella barely held in her laughter. Growling quietly, he turned his eyes back to the road and pointed out, "I could've taken out that vampire if you weren't standing so close to him."

"Your aim's that far off, is it? You were worried you'd accidentally hit me when I was standing a good twenty feet away from him?" Bella taunted.

Clint laughed softly to himself, amazed at what he was hearing. He shook his head and retorted, "Not hardly, gorgeous. I just didn't want you to get smacked by the heat."

Bella gave him a baffled look and it suddenly dawned on him that Bella never got a look at his arrows. He'd only shown her the bow. Smirking, he quickly explained, "That arrow I aimed at Dead Dreds back there? It had an explosive attached to it."

This time, it was Bella's jaw that dropped. She then gave him a thoughtful look, her eyes filled with curiosity, and asked, "Would that actually work?"

He returned her curious look with an equally curious one, "You tell me, you're the vamp expert."

Bella considered it seriously before shrugging, "It would if you shot him in the eye or the mouth. Their skin is impenetrable, so I don't really know what an open blaze would do to it, but… I'm guessing that if an open flame were enough, vampires wouldn't literally tear each other apart before burning the pieces. The key is lighting up the venom." She glanced down at her crescent shaped scar and suggested, "Maybe your experts at S.H.I.E.L.D. can take a sample of my scar and analyze it. You know, find out what'll work and what won't."

"That's a really good idea, actually," Clint commented, looking at her thoughtfully. "Looks like you didn't suffer the agony of that bite for nothing. Even if we could find a way to cut into their skin, we wouldn't be able to take a sample from a vampire without leaving a permanently open wound. Which sounds a little cruel when you think about it."

Bella nodded slowly and glanced down at the scar again, "Actually, I'm not sure, but I think they can close their wounds with their venom. I can't remember what happened very clearly after Edward sucked the venom out, but I think he closed the wound from the bite."

Clint stored that theory away while Bella stared at her scar for another moment, looking thoughtful. Hesitantly, she turned towards Clint and asked, "Do you believe in fate, Clint? The whole 'everything happens for a reason' deal?"

The concept of fate had been on Bella's mind all night and, honestly, she had to admit this felt a lot like fate to her. She was the only human to ever be bitten by a vampire and live. Before now, she had always viewed the incident with James as a senseless act of violence. But now? Bella realized that surviving that attack had placed her on this broken road, leading her to Clint and S.H.I.E.L.D. Even her scar held a new importance. A part of her even felt like that scar was always meant to end up in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands. She was just the delivery girl.

"Before I started at S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Clint asked, glancing at her. "Not so much. Since then, though…" he paused, struggling with how to phrase it. "When you're out on a mission, it's kind of odd how one person on your team can be the key to solving a major crisis. Some people argue that we just work with what we have, that we force the pieces to fit together and solve the puzzle, but not me. Take today, for example. Loki had total control over me, Bella, but I led him to the one property you were randomly using as a safe house and you had the ability needed to cut the strings binding me to him," he finished, looking at her pointedly.

Bella nodded slowly in understanding, picking up on what he was hinting at. Bella was quite possibly the only person in the world that could've helped Clint escape Loki's control and Clint had unknowingly driven straight to her. Likewise, Clint was the connection she needed to stop running and actually do something about vampires and their bloodlust. She didn't say it aloud, but Clint seemed to guess at her thoughts anyway and looked over at her, a slow, boyish smile forming on his lips and a hint of knowing in his gaze. Her cheeks heated and she rolled her eyes, unsurprised when he chuckled at her.

Something then occurred to Bella and her brown eyes glinted with amusement. He tilted his head, intrigued by the beautiful spark of mirth in her eyes, and watched her curiously. Eyeing him playfully, she asked teasingly, "So, what, we've been drawn together by fate? Sounds like a line, Clint."

Not about to let her pin the blame for that one on him, he laughingly held up one of his hands in surrender and pointed out, "You brought up fate, beautiful. Not me."

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to get in your pants," she deadpanned and looked down at her nails, feigning boredom.

Laughing in surprise, Clint shook his head and bantered, "The truth comes out."

"Yes, fate works for me, not the other way around," Bella stoically replied and Clint laughed again, surprised by how seriously she managed to pull that off.

His expression then sobered a bit. Anxiety building in his chest, he quietly remarked, "You're taking the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. and Loki thing way too calmly, Bella."

It bothered him, actually. He saw one brief flash of anger when she realized she wasn't really being given a choice, but then she agreed to help him and dropped it. Clint was expecting a completely different reaction and, on top of that, she didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by his agent status. When he told her he ran a background check on her, he knew she'd figured out that he would've brought her in for questioning tomorrow at lunch; he'd seen it in her eyes. He thought for sure that she'd be angry with him for that, but she merely flashed him a rueful look and changed the subject.

Bella glanced at Clint and gently reminded him, "You mean like how calmly you're taking the whole vampire thing?"

Her question made him pause, forcing him to consider things from her perspective. Clint was good with the weird because of everything he'd seen while working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Bella, on the other hand, was just as good with it because of her history with vampires. They both lived dangerous lives and the danger attached to the other's situation was something easy for them to accept. Oddly enough, they were both more concerned with putting each other in danger than the new danger they themselves were now facing.

Clint nodded slowly, a hint of understanding in his expression, and conceded, "I guess that makes us even, then."

"Guess it does," Bella agreed, fighting an amused grin, and turned her attention back to the window.

Remembering just how calmly Bella had reacted to the dangerous situations they'd faced tonight, Clint once again found himself himself thinking about how well she'd probably do as an agent. He glanced at her nervously before focusing on the road and asked with a casualness he didn't feel, "Have you ever thought about joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Bella turned her head sharply to look at him, thrown by the question. He kept his eyes trained ahead while she studied him. Clint didn't want her to see how desperately he wanted her to say yes, so he avoided her penetrating gaze. Bella was in danger, serious danger, and S.H.I.E.L.D. would train her to protect herself against threats with enhanced abilities. The guilt she felt a few minutes ago just made him even more convinced she'd do extremely well as an agent. She had a huge protective drive and that was something S.H.I.E.L.D. often looked for in potential recruits. That drive meant she'd probably find the work fulfilling and he couldn't think of a better way to protect her.

"That was never an option before," Bella quietly replied, unsure about where this was going.

Clint finally met her eyes, taking in the hint of confusion in her features. Studying her closely, he said softly, "It is now."

Unable to take his scrutiny, Bella looked away and hesitantly asked, "You really think I'm S.H.I.E.L.D. material?"

"I do," he said confidently and Bella brought her gaze back to his. "I thought about it at lunch earlier today, actually. I think you'd make an ideal recruit."

Mouth dry, Bella swallowed roughly and whispered, "Why?"

Bella was struggling to understand. In her mind, she was worthless. She felt worthless. When Edward left her stranded in the woods and the Cullens fled without saying goodbye, they destroyed what was left of her fragile self-esteem. She wasn't worth sticking around for, wasn't worth saying goodbye to, and she failed to see what Clint thought made her worthy enough to become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The only thing she was good at was attracting danger. She constantly put everyone around her at risk, which was why she stayed far away from La Push and Jacksonville, where her family lived. If danger was attracted to her, then she could at least use that curse to her advantage and draw the danger away from the people she loved.

Bella knew it wasn't rational, but it was how she felt. It gave her an odd sense of purpose, drawing the danger away. It made her feel like she could protect her loved ones, even if she couldn't actually go near them.

"You're incredibly perceptive, for starters," Clint began. "That's a handy trait to have. Ignoring the fact that you're the only human alive to put together the existence of vampires, you asked me if there was a base nearby and cracked a joke about me being a secret agent, remember? You were right on both counts. You're also hyperaware of your surroundings and you know how to keep yourself off the grid, which would help on covert missions. You're a dead shot with a gun, a quick thinker, and you have great reflexes. Most importantly, you're calm and rational under pressure, especially in the face of danger. That's a rarity and a quality S.H.I.E.L.D. looks for."

Bella shot him a disbelieving look and challenged, "You seriously think I'm calm under pressure? I just fell apart a few minutes ago! You had to calm me down, Clint."

Tempted to laugh, Clint smiled and pointed out, "You waited until the danger passed to fall apart, though. That's what's important. Agents fall apart too, Bella. We're still human, things still affect us. We just wait until the mission's over before dealing with our baggage. Back at the house? You calmed yourself down after I attacked you and stayed focused. In the car, we were being _shot at_ and you still remained calm. Most people would've freaked, Bella. You acted calm and rational instead. And when you were facing down that vampire? I think you were calmer than I was and that's saying something."

"And great reflexes?" she asked, still unconvinced. From what she remembered of her high school gym class days, her reflexes sucked.

Clint nodded and hinted, "What you did with the belt. That was all reflex, Bella."

Clint gave her a moment to digest what he was saying, realizing that she truly hadn't given the idea of joining S.H.I.E.L.D. any thought before now, even though she had agreed to help them with Loki. Bella threw him a skeptical look and he nodded seriously, letting her see his confidence.

"So if I wanted to join…" she began and trailed off uncertainly.

Clint smiled again and picked up where she left off, "Then you have an in. You've come face to face with vampires, Bella, and you have insider information. You're probably the only human to ever get close to vampires and live. That makes you an asset, which is your opening. You also have an ability that Director Fury will want to use. You can use that as leverage. And you have me. I'm a high level operative and Fury will take me seriously if I put in a good word for you. If you want this, we can make it happen."

Bella opened her mouth to say something and paused, the enormity of the situation finally hitting home. She truly had an opportunity to join S.H.I.E.L.D. if she wanted to. All she had to do was say the word.

Bella couldn't quite believe this was happening. A mere day ago, she was living a shadow of a life, focused entirely on two things, survival and staying away from the people she loved. Now, she was being given the chance to step back into the light and reclaim her life. If she joined S.H.I.E.L.D., she'd never be a victim again. Instead of being the prey, they would turn her into the hunter. They would teach her to protect herself and others from threats with enhanced abilities. Clint was giving her the opportunity to stop surviving and start living.

The choice before her would change her life and Bella recognized it. Instead of being the girl who constantly needed to be protected, she could be the protector. She could finally stop running and start fighting back. 

More importantly, she was being offered a chance at redemption.

Even though she knew Clint was right, that she wasn't responsible for the actions of every vampire in the world, a small part of her still felt incredibly guilty. Yes, she likely would've been institutionalized if she had tried to come forward, but that would've meant she at least _tried_ to do the right thing.

She couldn't help but wonder if things would've been different if she had contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. earlier. With Charlie backing her up, she knew she could've made them listen long enough to look at her scar and she couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility for the lives that were lost in the last four years. She owed it to the victims to do better, to fight back. This was her chance to do something good with her life. There were many times over the past year when she wondered if the world would've been better off if she'd never been born. Now was her chance to prove that thought wrong, that the world was better off with her in it. She wanted to be able to look back and say she left a positive mark on the world.

Jasper once told her that she was worth it. She hadn't believed him then, but she'd wanted the words to be true. The way the Cullens abandoned her had torn down what little good those words had done, but realizing her presence alone would bring death to Forks and La Push was what truly destroyed her. The knowledge that something as simple as just being near would bring death and destruction to her loved ones was a bitter pill to swallow. There was nothing worse than realizing she couldn't even protect herself, let alone the people she loved. She wanted to be able to protect them… Bella wanted to be someone who was actually worthy of Jasper's conviction. She wanted to do more good than harm.

She wanted to prove she wasn't worthless.

Bella licked her dry lips and swallowed hard. She looked down at her hands, a little surprised they weren't shaking from all the adrenaline rushing through her system. Slowly, she looked up and met Clint's steely, blue gaze. He studied her intently, a beautiful sense of hope taking root in his chest when he noticed the excitement in her eyes.

"Yes," she said, her voice strong and sure, "yes, I want that. If that's really an option, Clint, then I want it."

Bella watched a spark of something ignite in Clint's steel colored eyes, something she couldn't quite define, but it sent a thrill running through her. He nodded slowly and spoke in a low, husky voice, "Good. I'll talk to Fury, Bella." Changing the subject, he turned his attention back to the road, "The safe house is around the corner. As soon as we enter, Headquarters will call the house phone. It's protocol. Since Fury thinks I'm compromised, it'll be an interesting phone call."

Bella glanced around, taking in the fact that they appeared to be in what looked like a warehouse district. Confused, she looked at Clint and prodded, "Where? And what city are we in?"

"Santa Fe. And it's… right here," Clint said with a grin and pulled up to a warehouse. He was getting a serious kick out of Bella's confusion. Pulling right up to the warehouse door, he looked at Bella and hinted, "You need to get used to a whole different type of cloak and dagger now, Bella."

Bella watched curiously as the large metal door began to part, splitting in two, before it slowly slid open, creating a space just wide enough for a large vehicle to fit through.

"Motion sensors?" she guessed, wondering how the doors were triggered.

"And a pressure plate," he agreed with a hint of a smile, enjoying Bella's thought process. She always reacted in the most surprising ways, which he found refreshing. Instead of grilling him about the odd location, she wanted to know how the doors operated.

Clint carefully guided the car through the doors. A floodlight came on and he pulled forward, guiding the Monterro to the opposite end of the warehouse. Once there, he put the car in park and reached down, unconnecting the wires to kill the engine. Bella put her hand on the door handle and was about to open the door when Clint warned, "Wait."

Confused, she threw him a quizzical look. The car suddenly shook and Clint smirked, pointing out the window. Alarmed, Bella turned her head and realized the car was being moved. Clint had actually parked them on a platform, which was now rising. Wide-eyed, Bella silently watched as the platform rose to the second floor. Taking in her new surroundings, Bella gathered they were now in a secret garage. There was enough room for two cars in the immediate area and Bella turned in her seat, glancing behind them. From what she could tell, there was a door on the second floor of the warehouse that looked suspiciously similar to the door of an apartment.

"Cloak and dagger," Bella whispered, amazed, and Clint chuckled. "Hello, Mr. Bond."

"Barton, Clint Barton," he deadpanned in a deep voice and Bella giggled. Enjoying the sound of her laughter, he smiled at her and encouraged, "Come on, let's go get that arm cleaned up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! I accidentally posted chapter 10 as chapter 9, so it mixed the two chapters up for a couple hours. Sorry for the confusion! It should be fine now.


	10. Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint finally makes contact with SHIELD. Fury is flummoxed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, here's what you need to know about this chapter... From what I've seen in AoS, S.H.I.E.L.D. loves hiding things in plain sight, but I can't remember what the whole deal was for accessing one of their nifty, secret hiding places, so I let my imagination take charge when it came to protocol. Also, Fury's started using the term Enhanced to describe the unknown threat hunting Bella. Captain America used that term in the second Avengers movie, so that's what Fury's using to describe the vampires he saw in that video. I meant to say that a couple chapters ago, but it slipped my mind. They know Riley Biers wasn't born with his abilities, so Enhanced seemed like a fitting term to Fury.
> 
> Disclaimer: Marvel and Stephanie Meyer own the Avengers and Twilight. I own nothing. I just like playing in the shadows.

Bella slowly opened the car door and climbed out before grabbing her duffle bag out of the back seat. Surreally, she realized she was about to pass the night in safety for the first time in months. Because they hadn't gotten out of the car until it was already tucked away on the second floor, her scent hadn't leaked into the air outside. She didn't have to worry about vampires catching her scent while she was sleeping.

While Bella was still digesting that, Clint shut his door and met up with her on her side of the car. Gently taking the duffle bag from her, he slipped the strap over his shoulder and asked, "You okay?"

Bella smiled a little and explained, "I was just realizing that my scent can't be tracked here."

Clint nodded thoughtfully and they both started walking towards the door. The second floor of the warehouse was dimly lit and the sound of their footsteps echoed along the steel panels forming the floor. The vibrations the footsteps triggered felt odd beneath their feet. Clint knew for a fact that the safe house itself would be insulated and soundproofed, so they wouldn't have to worry about those vibrations once they stepped inside. Not every S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house was built like the warehouse was, but the agency definitely had a knack for building them in the most creative places.

Clint glanced at Bella while they walked and speculated, "They'll want me to prove I'm not being influenced anymore."

Not quite sure how to go about doing that, he looked at Bella hopefully for suggestions. This situation was honestly a first for him. He'd never been compromised before, so he was at a loss when it came to coming up with ideas that would reassure the agency he was back in control.

Bella gave him a confused look and asked, "Aren't I proof? A witness or alibi, whatever I am in this situation?"

Normally, she'd be right, but Loki's ability made the situation more complicated. Sighing, Clint pointed out, "The fact that you were there means Loki could be influencing you too."

"So... what happens if we can't convince them?" Bella asked, anxiously nibbling on her bottom lip.

Clint's gaze automatically dropped to her mouth and, distracted, he stared at it for a second before forcing himself to look away. Silently begging Bella to stop biting that lip, he said, "First, they'll send agents to collect us. Then they'll isolate us, put us under observation, and interrogate us, repeatedly. They'll also run the whole gamut of medical tests on us... order brain scans, take our blood, send in psychologists to analyze us, and the like. We'll waste a whole day as S.H.I.E.L.D. lab rats instead of helping them deal with Loki."

"That does not sound fun," Bella said with a weary sigh. She'd never been a fan of hospitals or doctors. In fact, Carlisle was the only doctor she even remotely liked. Clint glanced at her and chuckled in agreement.

They came to a stop next to the safe house door and Bella turned to face him, "That's only if we can't convince them that we're not under his thrall?"

Clint nodded, adding, "If it were me dealing with a compromised agent, I'd assume this was a set up of some sort, a way to gain information. I'd think that agent wanted back in just to spy and report everything S.H.I.E.L.D. does back to Loki. If that agent had someone like you backing him... It would help, but I'd still be wary. I'd be worried that the agent coached you."

He looked at Bella thoughtfully for a second and advised, "If whomever I talk to wants to speak with you and asks you questions, don't give them one word answers. Volunteer extra information. Add details from your life. Even if those details seem unimportant, they prove you're not some random girl off the street I bribed or threatened into backing me up. Tell them things only Bella Swan would know. You do that, and they'll see I didn't coach you." Looking at the locked door, he said sullenly, "If they even let us get that far."

Bella tilted her head in thought and contemplatively mused, "So you need a way to catch their attention, a way to jumpstart their curiosity. You need to say something that'll make them doubt that you're still linked to Loki."

Clint smiled slowly and admitted, "That would help. They'd at least hear me out, then."

She fell silent for a moment, mentally running through everything she knew about Loki. Remembering how respectfully everyone back at the house treated him, she suggested, "Insult Loki. Trash talk the hell out of him."

When Clint gave her a quizzical look, Bella explained, "It's the one thing he would never let any of his men do. You said he wanted to subjugate us. He wants to be worshipped as a god, treated like Thor and Odin are back on Asgard. He would never let anyone trash talk him, Clint. His ego's too big and his pride's already too wounded. That's why he wants to claim Earth in the first place, right? His wounded pride?" Clint nodded slowly, following her train of thought, and she added, "He would never tolerate such blatant disrespect and he doesn't from the men he controls. From what I saw, he literally won't allow it. That's your proof. Call him every name in the book and then ask your boss if Loki would've let you speak like that."

Stunned, Clint threw Bella a look full of so much pure admiration that she had to look away, blushing furiously. Bella barely got a glimpse of Loki, but she somehow managed to piece together something key about his personality based on the limited knowledge Clint provided her with and what she noticed herself. Bella had, once again, impressed the hell out of him and he realized she hadn't just given him a way to prove he was no longer under Loki's control, she'd provided S.H.I.E.L.D. with a potential weak spot in Loki's armor. She'd given them a place to exert a little pressure if they wanted him to snap and react irrationally.

She honestly had the potential to be a talented profiler, which Clint took note of and mentally filed away. Astonished, Clint realized this wasn't even the first time Bella used what she noticed about someone's personality to her advantage. Using what she already knew about Victoria, she'd accurately predicted she would start building an army and that the redhead expected her to retreat to Forks for help. She'd quickly linked Victoria to the people going missing in Seattle and that was something that Clint himself hadn't even noticed.

He didn't doubt that she also figured out something was off about him earlier based on what she already knew about him. If she hadn't, Bella would've come downstairs when she first realized he was there. She knew something was off because she'd noticed a drastic change in his behavior and wisely kept herself hidden away instead. Being able to read people was a skill that would definitely come in handy in her future career as an agent and it was something that he planned to point out to Fury.

"You're kind of amazing, you know that?" Clint asked, a slow grin working its way onto his face when she blushed even harder.

"I'm starting to think you just want to see me blush, Clint," she said accusingly.

Oh, he definitely liked seeing her blush, but that wasn't why he said what he did. His smile grew and he shook his head at her, "Don't blame me for those rosy cheeks, beautiful. Not my fault you can't take a compliment."

"You could just stop complimenting me. Problem solved," Bella argued, incredibly annoyed with herself. She was so annoyed that she didn't even care about how ridiculous that just sounded. Her cheeks were still flushed and it was actually starting to piss her off.

Clint raised his eyebrows at her, noticing how flustered she was getting. Finding her oddly adorable in that moment, he chuckled out, "Yeah, because _that's_ realistic."

Her annoyance evaporated at the sound of his chuckles and the spark of mirth in his eyes made her chest warm. Suddenly fighting a grin, she changed the subject and asked, "Think that'll work?"

"Only one way to find out," Clint admitted and pulled out his badge. Turning to look at the door's frame, he found the hidden panel he was looking for and pushed it to the side. Beneath it was a gel scanner and an alphanumeric key pad. He quickly typed in the password of the day and pressed his badge against the gel scanner. When it was done scanning, he heard the sound of the door being unlocked electronically. He pocketed his badge again and pushed the panel back into place before opening the door for Bella.

Getting into the safe house wasn't a problem, all he needed was a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge and a password. Getting back out, though? That was a little trickier. The door would automatically lock as soon as he let it close and he wouldn't be able to open it again until Headquarters cleared him. There was a secondary exit in one of the bedrooms, an escape hatch, but Clint wouldn't be able to pull that one open either without clearance. Since there was a tech station of some sort inside that was connected to the S.H.I.E.L.D. server, the safe houses were all monitored and the exits were designed to automatically lock, trapping people inside if HQ never cleared them.

Flashing Clint a grateful smile, Bella stepped inside and scanned her surroundings. Unsurprised, she noted that it did actually resemble a small apartment. There was a small common area to the right and a cramped kitchen to the left. On the opposite side of the room were two doors that led to bedrooms equipped with bathrooms.

The only thing that stood out as abnormal to her was the desk set up next to the door. A high tech looking computer sat on it with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the screen. Above that, a flat screen was attached to the wall, streaming video of the area outside the warehouse from four different cameras. A fifth camera showed a view of the area just outside the door on the second floor. Bella had noticed that camera, of course, but she hadn't bothered to avoid it this time. If that footage was transmitted back to S.H.I.E.L.D., it was highly unlikely Victoria would ever see it, even if she did have a hacker working for her. With all the technology at their disposal, Bella had a feeling the S.H.I.E.L.D. network was one of the most secure in the world, so she simply didn't see the point in hiding her face from that particular camera.

"That's handy," Bella murmured, her eyes trained on the screen. Having cameras outside her safe houses would've definitely made her feel more secure over the last eleven months.

Clint followed her into the room, the door closing on its own as soon as he released it. He glanced at the wall and nodded, silently agreeing, before taking her bag to one of the bedrooms. It definitely _was_ handy, but Clint couldn't help thinking it would've been better if the cameras weren't on a closed loop. None of the video footage recorded here was actually available at HQ. Safe houses were rarely used, so he understood why the tech department didn't want all that pointless footage being fed to the server, but it would've been worth it in the long run for situations just like this one. Instead of verifying Bella was with Clint with his own eyes, Fury was going to have to interrogate her over the phone.

Clint knew he only had a minute or so before the phone next to the computer would start ringing, but that was a minute he planned to take advantage of. He set Bella's bag down on the bed and started searching the room for the hidden escape hatch S.H.I.E.L.D. always built inside their safe houses.

"Bella," he called, "come here for a sec."

Bella followed Clint into the bedroom and found him crouching in front of the closet. When she stopped beside him, he gestured towards a panel built into the floor and explained, "This is an escape hatch. It's locked right now, but it shouldn't be after I talk to HQ. If anyone," he glanced up at her, "tries forcing the front door open, they'll set off a small explosion. If that happens, then we'll use this. It should bring us back out to the street below. Got it?"

Bella nodded just as the phone began to ring. Clint got to his feet and started heading towards the front of the safe house. As he stepped past her, he asked, "You mind grabbing the first aid kit? It should be in the bathroom."

Bella slipped into the bathroom and opened up the cabinet over the sink before checking the cupboard beneath it. She paused a second before grabbing the first aid kit, noticing the bathroom was fully stocked. From shampoo to tampons, everything she could ever need was underneath that sink. She found herself giggling like an idiot when she realized there was even a box of condoms, wondering who the hell would ever stock a safe house with something like that.

She was still internally cracking up when she brought the first aid kit back into the common room. Placing it on the kitchen counter, she gave an oddly quiet Clint a curious look and he covered the speaker of the phone he was holding with his free hand, explaining, "They passed me over to Agent Hill. She's getting the boss, Director Fury."

Fury had just finished his meeting with the World Security Council and was preparing a few files to take with him on his flight to New York when the unexpected happened. His lieutenant, Maria Hill, burst into the room with a S.H.I.E.L.D. issued phone in her hand. Surprised, he took in the slightly baffled look on her face and greeted her with a questioning tone, "Agent Hill?"

"Sir," she began, coming to a stop in front of him, "our safe house in Santa Fe just went active. It's Agent Barton."

Stunned, Fury took the phone from her and asked, "Barton, what on earth are you doing in a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house?"

"I thought that would be obvious, sir," Barton chuckled.

Fury pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a long moment. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear Agent Barton sounded like he was back to normal. He didn't see how that was possible, though, since no operatives had been sent in to rescue him. Hell, they couldn't even _find_ him. Bemused, he brought the phone back to his ear and pressed, "You want to fill me in on what's going on, Barton? I'm confused and _I do not like being confused._ Are you or are you not under Loki's control?"

"I was, but I'm not anymore," Clint replied, looking at Bella. "It seems I've got a guardian angel on my side."

Bella predictably blushed and rolled her eyes. Clint grinned unrepentantly and winked at her.

"Uh huh," Fury said skeptically. "So you're telling me this isn't one of Loki's tricks. You're really free."

He might not have dealt with Loki before, but Fury had a feeling he was known as the god of chaos, mischief, and lies for a reason. It wouldn't surprise him if Loki turned out to be just as tricky as all the myths claimed.

"Yes, sir," Clint said, infusing his voice with as much honesty as he could.

"Prove it," Fury challenged. He barely finished speaking before Clint started swearing a mile a minute, calling Loki every foul word he could think of. He even used a few words Fury had never heard before. Baffled, Fury asked, "What the hell was that, Barton?"

Bella giggled, incredibly amused, and Clint threw her a wicked grin. He was more than a little amused himself. This was probably the one and only time he'd get away with mouthing off in front of his boss.

"My proof," Clint said seriously. "Think about it, sir. Loki believes he is a god. He told us he was 'burdened with glorious purpose.' He wants to be worshipped and obeyed. Do you really think he would ever let any of his men talk about him in such a disrespectful and degrading manner? Even if he was hoping to use me as a double agent, do you really think he'd ever allow me talk about him that way?"

Fury paused, weighing Loki's personality against Clint's words. Nodding reluctantly, he conceded, "All right, you have my attention, Barton."

Fury made his way over to his desk, sensing this was a conversation he'd better be sitting down for. He didn't know how Barton broke free from Loki's mind control, but he had a feeling there was more than one shock coming his way.

"Sir, I'll explain everything to you, but first, do you have any agents in Volterra?" Clint asked, meeting Bella's worried gaze. He'd thought a lot about what, exactly, he needed to tell Fury on the drive over and the situation in Volterra took priority.

It would take Loki at least a day to gather the resources he needed and set up another portal, which gave them a little time. If there were agents in Volterra, on the other hand, they were out of it. A vampire could end them at any moment. It might even be too late to help them already.

Fury hesitated, reluctant to reveal anything to him without verifying he was free from Loki's control in person. Realizing this, Clint quickly explained, "If you do, you need to pull them out right now. The forces they're up against are unlike anything they have ever dealt with before. Pull them out."

"Do you know something about Volterra that we don't, Agent Barton?" Fury pressed.

"Yes, sir. The tourists are being lured in for their blood and drained. Did Agent Coulson get the chance to fill you in on all of the details of the Swan case? Like the cause of death?"

"Yes," Fury replied, pulling up the Swan case on the interactive screen that formed the top of his desk, "I've also seen the video. What does this have to do with Volterra?"

"The woman in the video with enhanced abilities is a vampire, Fury," Clint explained. He felt a little ridiculous even saying the word, but Fury needed to know and he needed to know _now_. "Volterra is the home to the largest and most dangerous coven of vampires in the world. Sending in any agent without extensive support is a death sentence, sir."

Stunned, Fury nearly dropped the phone. If it were any other agent making a claim like that, Fury would be tempted to order that agent a psych eval. Barton, however, was different. He knew Barton on a personal level and he also knew that Clint Barton would never joke about a potential loss of lives, especially the lives of agents. Fury quickly remembered the details of the Swan case, recalling the abilities of the redhead on the video and how Bella's roommate was found drained. There were even teeth impressions left in the wound on the girl's neck. Flying to his feet, he practically barked, "How do you know this, Barton?"

"I'm with Bella Swan," Clint patiently began, his voice calm. "She was using the same property I took Loki to after we fled the base as a safe house. Bella cornered me there and I attacked her. She used an ability she didn't realize she had to break Loki's hold over me. It protected me somehow and severed the connection I had to Loki. We escaped together and one of the vampires hunting her attacked while we were dumping her car. She told me everything she knows about vampires, sir."

"The property you took Loki to?" Fury repeated.

"A foreclosed house on the edges of town," Clint clarified and couldn't help grinning a little. It wasn't often someone outsmarted Fury.

Fury nodded to himself as the pieces fell into place. Barton knew he would close down the highways and post men at all the transportation depots and airports, so he stayed close to base. Fury expected him to get out of the area as quickly as possible, which was exactly why Barton lingered. He couldn't argue with the agent's logic. It'd obviously worked. A strategic move like that was something Fury expected from him, so he couldn't claim to be all that surprised.

The information about Bella, on the other hand, threw him. He'd wondered to himself if Bella was staying away from city life and it now seemed that she was. The girl was using foreclosed houses on the edges of small towns to her advantage. He felt a brief flash of amusement when it dawned on him that she must've thought the same way Barton did when it came to hiding herself away, which meant the property she picked was remote with electricity and running water. It also wouldn't have surprised him if she picked a place where she could either see or hear any incoming traffic, especially if she somehow managed to corner Barton there. Instead of taking _her_ by surprise, she'd ambushed _him_.

"You're a pain in the ass, Barton," Fury muttered. He swore he could hear a smirk in Clint's voice.

"I know, sir," Clint acknowledged, his tone serious. He swallowed hard and added in low tone, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I wasn't in control. None of us were."

Fury sighed, realizing just how difficult it had to be for Barton to say that, especially since he hadn't been a willing accomplice of Loki's. He knew Barton wasn't just talking about helping Loki escape either. He was apologizing for everything he did from the second Loki took control, including shooting him.

He needed to confirm Barton's story somehow before acting on anything he said, but if Barton was telling the truth then Fury needed to speak with Agent Coulson. Even though their priority was Loki, neither Fury nor Coulson had forgotten about Bella Swan. In fact, Coulson was supposed to bring her in tomorrow in Barton's place.

"You said Miss Swan used an ability to break Loki's control," Fury said slowly, his brows furrowed, "what about the others, Barton? She couldn't free any of them?"

"No, sir," Clint replied. "She tried, but she's never used it before tonight. She was under attack when it surfaced, so it likely only manifested because she was dying, like a survival instinct that kicks in when you run out of options." His voice faltered and he swallowed roughly. It was a lot harder for him to talk about attacking Bella than he thought it'd be. When Bella was involved, he found he couldn't be neutral. She meant too much to him. Clearing his throat, Clint changed the subject, "It's like an energy field of some sort, a protective force. It snapped back into her after I regained control. I highly doubt she can be influenced at all. She can share that protective energy with others, but she doesn't know how to control it yet."

Even though Fury wished Bella had been able to free all of his men, he was still grateful for what she did do. She didn't owe S.H.I.E.L.D. anything, yet she still put her life on the line to help Barton and tried to help the others under Loki's thrall. The fact that she even tried impressed him and he thought back to the first conversation he had with Coulson about Bella Swan, when he realized Barton was interested in her on a personal level. At the time, he'd thought Bella Swan must've been unique if she caught Barton's attention and he realized now that she absolutely was. Most civilians wouldn't risk their lives for someone who was practically a stranger, let alone a civilian who was trying to keep herself off the grid.

Taking in a deep breath, he took a moment to digest everything Barton was telling him, including the fact that Bella's ability was one they could use against Loki. Finally, he remarked, "I want to believe you, Barton, but I can't pull those agents without something more substantial. For all I know, Loki might need something in Volterra and you could be clearing the way for him."

Clint nodded to himself and let out a frustrated sigh, expecting this. Honestly, he knew Bella's earlier idea about Loki was the only reason Fury was even still talking to him. Without her input, Fury likely would've sent agents to retrieve Clint and held him under observation for a full day. Because of the point Bella made, Fury was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, they were now out of ideas, so Clint asked, "What would you have me do, sir?"

Fury paused thoughtfully and decided, "The car you dumped, tell me about it."

"It was Bella's, a dark green SUV she bought with cash in Salt Lake City. It suffered damage when we came under fire fleeing the property," Clint began. He told Fury where he could find it and added, "She torched it, sir. She didn't want the vampires after her to get a hold of my scent."

Fury smiled slowly, beginning to feel a grudging respect for Bella Swan, "Put Bella on the phone. I'll give her the chance to corroborate your story."

Clint nearly let out a giant sigh of relief. If Fury thought Bella could corroborate his story, then Fury was inclined to believe she hadn't been influenced by Loki. That was good news. The sooner they cleared this up, the sooner he could get back to work.

Clint threw Bella a questioning look and asked, "Bella, would you mind talking to Director Fury? He just wants to corroborate my story."

Bella nodded and Clint placed the call on speaker phone. She glanced at Clint and he nodded encouragingly. Her voice came out more hesitant than she meant it to when she greeted him, "Director Fury? This is Bella Swan."

A breath of relief escaped Fury. Passing the call off to her so quickly meant Barton was confident his companion would convince him of their sincerity. He hadn't hesitated to relinquish the call to her and Fury was certain Barton would've had he coached some random girl into impersonating Bella Swan. It was that confidence, more than anything, that assuaged most of his doubts. It seemed more and more likely that Agent Barton truly did escape Loki.

"Miss Swan," Fury began, "if what Agent Barton tells me is true, then it seems S.H.I.E.L.D. owes you a thank you."

Frowning, Bella shook her head and argued, "No, you don't. The other agents are still under Loki's control because of me. You don't owe me anything."

Clint desperately fought a smile, realizing his girl had a guilt complex. It really wasn't funny and it was something he'd have to work with her on if she genuinely wanted to become an agent, but it cracked him up in that moment because he knew it would baffle Fury. He was pretty damned sure Fury had never met someone like Bella Swan before.

Sure enough, Bella's response left Fury flabbergasted. Surprised, he asked, "Are you actually trying to claim responsibility for Loki's actions? I wasn't aware there were two of you trying to dominate the world."

Bella's face flushed and she glanced at Clint, who was shaking with silent laughter. Rolling her eyes at him, she ruefully replied, "Well, if you put it that way-"

"There's no other way to put it," Fury interrupted, cutting her off. He never thought he'd see the day when he had to actually convince someone that he was grateful. "Those men are still under Loki's control solely because Loki wants them to be. That's not your fault, Swan. Barton's free because of you and I'm grateful for that. Accept it, damn it."

Clint was nearly doubled over with laughter at that point. It cracked him up to hear Fury arguing with Bella over a thank you. He was pretty sure it was a first for either of them. Astonished, Bella looked up at him again, her eyes wide, and said softly, "Okay, Director. I accept it."

"Good," he practically barked. Realizing he'd gotten a little too heated, he cleared his throat and added in a calmer tone, "Now, I just need to ask you a few questions, ones that will verify you are who you say you are."

"You're hoping to confirm that I'm not an imposter, that this isn't some elaborate plot to pull the agents from Volterra," Bella clarified. "I understand, Director. Ask your questions."

Smiling slightly, Fury mused, "Let's start with something simple. Your birthday and what your father does for a living."

"September 13th and my dad is the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington, the gloomiest place on earth," she responded, her voice laced with humor.

"What type of car did you have?"

Bella smiled fondly and replied, "It was a truck, a beat up red Chevy from the '50s. My best friend rebuilt the engine on it. A lot of hard work went into it."

"What was your friend's name?" Fury asked, figuring he could look it up. If she gave him the name of someone living in the Forks area, that would mean Bella Swan truly was with Barton. It would prove he was telling the truth, at least about meeting up with her. Finding a burnt out car shot up with bullet holes would prove the rest.

"Jacob Black, sir."

"The one who filed a missing persons report on you," Fury commented and gave Agent Hill a pointed look. She nodded quickly, pulled out her phone, and slipped outside to make a call. "He did the repair work on that truck?"

Bella smiled and answered, "Yes, sir. My dad bought it from the Blacks. I loved that truck. I was pissed when Clint told me Victoria tore it to pieces."

"Victoria?" Fury repeated.

"The redheaded vampire on the video from the airport parking lot," Bella explained, her voice taking on an edgier tone. She couldn't help it, really, not when they were discussing the vampire who murdered her roommate and drove her from Washington.

Fury nodded, glad to finally have a name for the redhead. Stalling for more time to give Agent Hill a chance to verify the information Bella gave him, Fury pressed, "You left her a message. What did it say?"

Surprised, Bella looked up at a grinning Clint with wide eyes. She hadn't thought about that message in months and she definitely hadn't realized Clint knew about it. Hell, he probably even watched her leave it in the video footage he mentioned earlier. She eyed the phone warily, making Clint chuckle, and sheepishly confessed, "Game on, bitch. Come and get me."

Fury smirked and asked something he'd been dying to know since he first watched that video, "Why did you leave that message, Miss Swan?"

Bella ran a hand through her hair and explained, "Part of it was anger. I wanted her to know that I knew what game she was playing and that I wasn't going to play by her rules. She was toying with me by leaving that threat on the wall and thought I would run back to Forks. All her plans were riding on that belief. I wanted her to know I wasn't going down that easily and that I wasn't going to do what she expected me to. I also wanted to draw her focus away from Forks. If she was livid with me, she'd throw all of her energy into tracking me down instead of taking her anger out on my town. That was my hope, anyway."

In the simplest of terms, Bella was baiting her. Leaving that message on the window had been an impulsive decision on Bella's part, but it still served a purpose. She wanted to make sure Victoria knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was nowhere near Forks, that she wasn't with the wolves. She also wanted to make Victoria angry, hoping the redhead would be so focused on finding her, on winning the cat and mouse game they were playing, that she would put all of the vampires she created to work on tracking Bella down instead of leading them against the wolves.

The moment Bella realized Victoria was creating an army, Bella knew she only had three logical options. She could either go to the wolves for protection, turn herself over to Victoria, or flee Washington. Two of those options, though, were never real options. If she retreated to La Push, wolves would die... and if she turned herself over to Victoria? Like she did with James to protect her mother? Wolves would still die. A part of her had instinctively known that as much as she wanted to save the pack, trading her life for theirs would only destroy it.

The wolves were impulsive and emotional by nature. They often acted on pure instinct, which was the chief reason why the pack had such a hard time adjusting to their new natures during the year after they phased for the first time. Though she loved them dearly, Bella also knew Jacob and Paul were the most impulsive out of the pack. Jake was usually a sunny, upbeat kind of guy, but if you hurt someone he loved or put them in danger, he often reacted without thought. Paul, on the other hand, was the most emotional. The slightest things often pissed him off and that temper also made him the most erratic. Jacob and Paul were the two wolves she had the strongest bonds with and those two, at the very least, would've gone after Victoria immediately if Bella had let the vampire kill her.

As convinced as she was at the time that a part of her was dead inside, that she was hopelessly and irreparably broken, there were still a few glowing embers of warmth lingering within her heart. She once told Jake she wasn't a car he could fix up, that she was never going to run right, and that's how she felt at the time. No matter how much energy he put into her, that all of her friends and family put into her, her heart was constantly running on fumes... but whatever she did have left? Whatever flickers of genuine love remained for her to give? Bella had given it to Charlie and the pack.

It started with Jacob. She'd begun hanging out with him in a desperate attempt to borrow some of that warm sunshine that seemed to flow from his very pores, but it certainly hadn't ended there. During the two and a half years she spent with the wolves, Bella had slowly but surely become a central fixture in the pack's life.

After Jake first phased and cut his ties with her, Bella had known that it was only a matter of time before she faded into nothing. She hadn't thought it was possible, that she'd lost her will to survive long before then, but something within her refused to submit to that fate. One of those survival instincts the Cullens never thought she had finally kicked in and she started seething with anger. Barely a week passed after Jake started avoiding her before she snapped.

She'd shown up right on his doorstep, feeling so much anger that it was a wonder she didn't explode. Since Jacob had been ordered not to talk to her, he had no choice but to call Sam. The entire pack tagged along out of boredom and letting Paul come with them was one of Sam's greatest mistakes. The boy couldn't even control his own mouth, let alone his ability to phase. Livid, Bella slapped him and Paul exploded in a shower of sparks and fur. Even though Jake stepped in to protect her, there was no undoing that. Their secret had been exposed to her and Bella became a part of the inner circle afterwards.

Bella, by nature, was not an intrusive person. She didn't immediately become an integrated part of their lives, but she did hang out on the fringes. She often sat back and just observed, using those perceptive eyes of hers to her advantage. The thing about Bella, though, was that she couldn't stand watching others in pain. Whenever an issue came up that Bella noticed one of the wolves were struggling with, she couldn't keep her silence. She reached out on instinct and helped smooth over a lot of personal issues the pack was dealing with.

The first time she got involved was when she helped Embry come up with an excuse that explained his erratic behavior to his mother. A couple months later, life as the only female in the pack started driving Leah crazy. Bella realized the poor girl was only hanging on by a thread and took Leah to Jacksonville for a week, giving her some much needed personal time to come to terms with everything she'd been through. Those memories of the times Bella stepped in were shared collectively with the others through the packmind. Before she knew it, the wolves started seeking her out for help and advice whenever they had a problem. Every single one of them asked her for help at some point and, somehow, she became important to them all. Sam was the only one who never really bonded with her.

Even Paul came to her for help one day, about a week after she graduated. He'd mouthed off one too many times and Emily, of all people, slapped him. Upset on his mate's behalf, Sam ripped into him and ordered him to get a handle on it. Since Bella was the first of the many people who slapped him that year, she was the first person he thought of when it came to getting it under control. He started hanging out with her, well aware that she had no problem telling him when he was acting like an asshole. To their mutual surprise, they grew quickly on each other and became true friends. Bella taught him how to be more considerate and, in return, Paul taught her how to use her mouth as a weapon. The quips and barbs traded between the two often cracked the pack up.

Bella's bonds to the pack slowly grew and they were incredibly strong by the time Victoria started building her army. She was considered a beloved friend to many of them, especially Jacob and Paul, which was why Bella knew turning herself over to Victoria was never an option. The idea never even entered her mind because she just knew it wasn't a viable solution. Paul and Jacob, as sunny as Jake was, were the most volatile members of the pack. If Victoria killed Bella, they would've gone after Victoria immediately, thirsty for vengeance. Giving herself up to Victoria, like she did with James, would've led to a battle between the wolves and her newborns just as surely as retreating to La Push would've.

With that in mind, Bella's only real option was to run. Victoria had patiently waited until Bella moved to Seattle before attacking, so Bella knew that Victoria truly didn't _want_ to fight the wolves. She was only building an army because she thought she had no other choice. Using that knowledge to her advantage, Bella made sure Victoria knew she wasn't with the wolves anymore and baited the redhead into coming after her.

Fury had to admit he was impressed by the strategic move. For a girl of twenty, that was quick thinking on her part. He had wrongly assumed Bella was running to escape a dangerous situation, but that wasn't true. She had fled in hopes that the vampire would follow her, that she could draw Victoria away from the people she loved.

Most people would consider running from a fight a cowardly thing to do, but fleeing was actually a selfless act on Bella's part. She knew innocent lives would be lost if she stayed in Washington, so she sacrificed her future to keep it from happening. She wasn't trying to save herself, she was trying to save _everyone else_. On top of that, Fury liked the way Bella thought. Instead of playing the game Victoria wanted her to, she tore up the rule book and did what was least expected of her. He found himself admiring the girl for her quick thinking and looked forward to meeting her.

It also made him pause and wonder, what were Loki's rules? If he could figure that out, then he, too, could tear up the rule book. Unfortunately, he had a sinking feeling that Loki had no rules, that he'd do anything and everything to get what he wanted.

While these thoughts ran through his mind, Fury paid close attention to the emotional tenor of Bella's voice, listening for the slightest indication that her answers were rehearsed. She sounded genuine and Fury was becoming more and more convinced that Agent Barton was telling the truth.

"Sir," Agent Hill interrupted, stepping back into the office while slipping her phone into her pocket, "the previous owner of the truck was a William Black. His son, Jacob, is a mechanic from La Push. A new shop opened up in the area a few months ago. It's owned and operated by a Sam Uley, Paul Lahote, and Jacob Black. One of our agents also pulled a police report describing a car fire in the same lot Agent Barton mentioned. The car was a green SUV, riddled with bullet holes. We have a team assigned with the task of looking into it, but they're still working with Search and Rescue at the moment."

Satisfied, Fury refocused on Bella, saying, "Thank you, Miss Swan. I have what I need. Please give the phone back to Agent Barton."

Clint picked up the phone again, taking it off speaker, "Barton, here, sir."

Covering the phone, Fury turned to his lieutenant and ordered, "Call the team in Volterra, Agent Hill, and pull them out. Reassign them to Romanoff's team. Have her jet stop in Italy and collect them on the way to Russia. She could use the support when she lands in Calcutta."

"Yes, sir," Agent Hill replied and immediately pulled her phone back out.

Fury turned his attention back to Clint, "The agents have been pulled, Barton. Now tell me about Loki and Bella Swan's ability. We'll deal with the fucking vampires later."

Nodding to himself, Clint launched into a report of everything that happened after he escaped with Loki. Bella listened to the first half of the conversation, curious herself to hear about his escape from the base and the chase that ended with his arrival at the foreclosed house she was using. Once he started describing what came next, however, she lost interest. Clint kept an eye on her as she made her way into the kitchen and opened the first aid kit. She began cleaning her wounds, struggling a bit since her right arm was the one injured. Unfortunately, she wasn't left handed.

A pregnant silence echoed across the line after Clint finished recounting the night's events. Fury honestly didn't know what to say at first. Bella Swan truly did seem like a guardian angel in that moment.

Clearing his throat, Fury decided to start with her, "Bella Swan. What's your take on her?"

Clint smiled slightly, his eyes still trained on Bella, and admitted, "Resilient, clever, resourceful, and brave, sir. She's selfless and a true survivor. She's a protector through and through. She's also good with a gun, remarkably calm under pressure, and probably the first human to ever kill a vampire."

Thinking over what Barton told him of Bella's actions throughout the night, Fury hummed in agreement and asked, "Is she willing to help us, Barton? I'm assuming you filled her in on the situation with Loki. Is she willing to use that ability of hers?"

"Yes, sir. She's not quite sure how she did it, but she's willing to try," Clint replied. "Actually, I think she'd make an excellent recruit."

"She's interested then?" Fury probed, his mind already making plans on how best to use her.

"Yes, sir."

Nodding, Fury came to a decision, "All right. I'm about to head to New York to speak with Captain Rogers. Fill Bella in on the Avenger Initiative. Treat your wounds and grab a few hours of shut-eye. Agent Hill will pick you up at the airfield outside of Santa Fe at 0900. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Barton?" Fury added. "Glad to have you back."

"Thank you, sir," Clint said gratefully before hanging up.

Clint honestly hadn't known how that call was going to go, but he didn't think it could've gone any better than that. The agents in Volterra had been pulled, Fury now knew Loki had an army to back him up, and Clint had been ordered to brief Bella on the Avenger Initiative. That call could've gone a lot worse and Clint was nearly overwhelmed with relief now that it was over.

Fury ended the call and stared at the phone for a moment, his thoughts racing. Bella Swan was a wild card, one he hadn't seen coming. She was a game changer and Fury found himself grinning at the thought. He knew Loki already knew about the Avenger Initiative. With so many high level operatives now under his control, that was a given. Bella Swan, however, was an asset that nobody knew about. His other assets could take Loki down, but they all would be vulnerable to his ability to control minds.

Losing Captain America or Ironman to Loki's control was a nightmare scenario of epic proportions and Fury didn't even want to think about what would happen if the Hulk was turned against them. If he threw Bella into the mix, though, then he wouldn't have to worry about his best men being compromised and used against them. With her help, they might just have a genuine shot at containing this thing.

"Director?" Hill questioned, a little unnerved by the smile on his face. A smiling Fury was a worrying thing.

Turning to look at her, he handed the phone back to her and quickly explained, "Agent Hill, it seems you'll be taking a quinjet to Santa Fe in the morning. Agent Barton and our new recruit will be waiting for you at the airfield outside of town at 0900."

"New recruit, sir?" she prodded.

Fury nodded, "Bella Swan. She has an ability. She protected Barton's mind, releasing him from Loki's control, and she's interested in joining S.H.I.E.L.D. I'd like to add her to the team." He paused a second before adding, "Bella has intel on the Enhanced we saw in that footage on the way to the base earlier today. I'd like you to interview her on the flight back. Apparently, the footage Coulson sent me was..."

"Of vampires," Agent Hill finished, still silently marveling over that fact. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but vampire was a word that grabbed one's attention.

Still trying to digest that fact himself, Fury nodded, "Yes. Find out everything you can about vampires, Agent Hill. After we detain Loki and retrieve the Tesseract, we'll focus on the new threat."

Hill nodded in agreement, "Yes, sir."

Fury quickly glanced at his watch, taking in the time, and asked, "Is Agent Coulson ready, Hill?"

Both Captain Rogers and Tony Stark were currently in New York, so Fury planned to share a quinjet with Agent Coulson. While Fury approached Captain Rogers, Coulson would be tackling the situation with Stark. In the meantime, Agent Hill would be focused on making sure their helicarrier was staffed and fully functional. Fury planned to take the quinjet to the carrier after speaking with the Captain before sending it back for Coulson. Now that Fury didn't need him to retrieve Bella Swan, Coulson would remain behind in New York, waiting for Stark and Rogers.

Hill nodded, "Yes, sir. He's waiting on deck, sir. He also has the briefings with him."

"Well," Fury sighed, collecting the files he wanted and transferred them onto a tablet, "looks like the board is set. It's time to start moving some pieces."

As he locked down the interactive screen forming the top of his desk, Fury's thoughts drifted back to Clint and Bella. He got back one of his knights and couldn't help but wonder what role Bella would take in this game. A part of him hoped she was more than just a pawn. He hoped she'd turn out to be a valuable piece. Maybe even the queen.

Grabbing his personal tablet, Fury created a new file as he walked out of the room and transferred the Swan case into it. He smiled to himself as he typed in the code name, _Guardian_. Something told him the name would fit her well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, I’m working on the next chapter, but it may be a while before I post it. It’s really been an awful year for me. In addition to both my parents catching COVID over the summer, I just found out I have a benign tumor wrapped around a major nerve in my right foot. Since I already have one in my left foot (and nearly lost my leg because of it), I haven’t been in a mood conducive to writing lately. Hopefully, I’ll feel up to posting again soon.
> 
> If any of you want to be my own personal superhero, 4padfoot set me up a PayPal donation link at www.tbvikingaddict.wordpress.com. You’ll find it at the top of the grey bar at the bottom of the page. Pain keeps me from working, so I would be deeply appreciative of any help you’re willing to offer.
> 
> And for the amazing few who already have? Thank you so much. You have no idea just how much it means to me.
> 
> Stay safe out there.
> 
> —TBVA


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